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The Student News Site of Sacramento City College

The Express

The Student News Site of Sacramento City College

The Express

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Legion’ dazzles, falls flat

Courtesy Bold Films
The angel Michael packing heat. Courtesy Bold Films

“Legion” the new action thriller with echos from the book of Revelation by former special effects artist Scott Stewart, speeds into the apocalypse and out the other side without slowing down.

The film stars Paul Bettany of “Da Vinci Code” and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” fame, as the angel Michael. He’s come to Earth in order to stop God from destroying humanity, as he once did with the flood and Noah.

Apparently, God’s plan involves angels possessing humans and turning them into saw-toothed zombies. The only way to stop them is make sure pregnant waitress Charlie (Adrianne Palicki, from TV’s “Friday Night Lights”) has her child. The reason for the child’s importance is never adequately explained, just that he is the only hope for humanity. It seems the viewer is meant to accept it on faith.

Bettany is joined by veteran actors Dennis Quaid, as Bob, the owner of the diner in which most of the film takes place, and Charles S. Dutton, as the one-handed fry cook, Percy. Other familiar faces include Lucas Black as Quaid’s son Jeep, and Tyrese Gibson as Kyle, whose origins aren’t really looked into. Rounding out the cast are Kate Walsh (“Grey’s Anatomy”, “Private Practice”), Jon Tenney and Willa Holland, recognizable for TV roles, as the Andersons, a seemingly well-to-do family with a broken-down BMW.

At only 100 minutes, there’s not much time for plotting. After Michael descends from Heaven, the human characters are set up quickly: Jeep loves Charlie, who doesn’t want her baby. Bob is a failure, the Andersons are dysfunctional, and Kyle is a mystery.
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Soon, freaky things happen, like a possessed grandma attacking the patrons, a plague of flies, and inexplicable darkness. Michael shows up in an LAPD squad car with a trunk full of guns, and possessed humans converge on the diner. He explains what’s going on as they fend off the multiple attempts to breach their defenses.

Part Kevin Smith’s “Dogma”, part zombie apocalypse flick, “Legion” has some great special effects, not surprising given the director’s background in that field. Unfortunately the script is thin. Not much is explained in detail, and sometimes it seems like the narrative is just there to tie the action scenes together. Everything seems a little rushed, too, given the running time.

The acting is pretty good for an action movie; Bettany is excellent, and Quaid is always dependable for a solid performance. Psychotic-looking character actor Kevin Durand, as the angel Gabriel, is excellent as usual, and his scenes provide some of the best visuals as he duels Michael with bulletproof, razor-sharp wings.

The movie, which is R-rated, has a fair amount of gore and profane language, though compared to many other R-rated movies, it doesn’t stand out in that regard.

Like the other God-based apocalyptic action movie released this month, “The Book of Eli”, the effects are great, the acting top-notch, and the film is entertaining overall —but the script could’ve offered more.

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