4/10

Legion

When God decides that he has had enough of humanity and all their foibles he sends an army of angels to wipe the earth clean. In a quiet diner, in the middle of Nowhere USA, lies the saviour of the world, safely tucked away in a young waitress’s belly. One of God’s angels, Michael (Paul Bettany) still has faith in humanity and takes it on himself to defend this waitress and the fate of the human race. What follows this is a rather silly series of events, some great special effects, and a number of stock characters getting dispatched one by one.

The premise for Legion is somewhat interesting, as it is God that has grown tired of humanity. But apart from that it just takes the form of the usual hell comes to earth plot. Also setting all the action in a small diner, far from the clutches of the burning world, could have made for some suspenseful action, and it does for all too brief stretches. The moments where the diner gang slowly realise that things might not be what they results in some decent suspense. But they are soon displaced by shooting scenes followed by long scenes of expository dialogue.

It also doesn’t help that all the characters in the diner are stock: the bickering family with the hot rebellious daughter, the father struggling with his choices, the gangster with a heart, the spunky girl who wants more from her life and the sap who loves her and eventually becomes a man. The most interesting character of the bunch is the angel Michael, who doesn’t do much more than kick ass and be cool in the face of impending doom. Paul Bettany does a good job with what he is given, and does seem very commanding and in control at all times.

On the positive side the film does have some great special effects. Director Scott Stewart used to work at ILM and obviously has a lot of fun with the look of the film. The direction itself is rather decent for a first timer, if not spectacular, but the practical and CG effects look the part, and create some of the films creepier moments. The old lady and the ice cream man in particular are quite well done.

Apart from some nice looking effects there isn’t a whole lot to recommend about Legion. The characters are one note, the interesting idea is soon turned into a routine horror film, and the action sequences are all fairly boring. Despite some nice visual flourishes, and Paul Bettany’s understated performance, Legion feels like a film of wasted potential.