Legion

Reviewed by Drav3n

Format: Blu-ray

Release: May 11, 2010

Rated: R

Runtime: 100 Minutes

The Movie:

How can a movie about angels being sent down from God to wipe out the human race be this bad?! God is the "bad guy" in this movie, how can this be bad?! Maybe it's because of bad casting (Dennis Quaid and Tyrese fans, anyone?), or maybe it's because the name of one of the characters is Jeep. I'm not sure what went wrong, but this movie could've delivered huge but instead comes up really short!

The movie takes place in a little remote diner in New Mexico, with a group of people as mankind's last hope at saving humanity from...God? Your group consist of a cook, a father and son, a pregnant waitress, a stranded family, a motorist lost along the way, and an archangel who chooses not to follow through with God's orders, which includes killing the pregnant waitress and the unborn child. Michael the archangel advises them whatever they do, they must protect the waitress and the child, as they are the world's only hope. He has also provided everyone in the group with ample amounts of weapons to fend off the masses of minions that are being descended upon the diner.

Once I learned what this movie was about, I was shocked at how the Christians weren't causing controversy about this film, like they do with every other film that comes out! How did a movie about God wanting to wipe out humanity slip off their radar? But anyway, the character's were all generic and lifeless and added nothing to the story. The old woman started off kinda intriguing but the whole wall-crawling was bad. The ice cream man was, sadly, more funny looking than scary.

In regards to the movie and being trapped in a small location, couldn't they have came up with something different or at least more original? So many movies have done this before, with most recently being "The Mist" (trapped in a supermarket) and "Splinter" (trapped in a gas station/convenience store).

It's a good thing when the story is explained to the viewers, but when it's over-explained, then you know something is wrong. During the scene with archangels Michael and Gabriel in a heaven-esque location, there's a moment when you begin to think that things are finally going to happen the way that you had hoped, and things are going to get alot more interesting. Too bad that moment goes away quick and resorts back to the painful disaster this film was turning into before.

It's a shame, really. This film has a really great premise. But with poor execution from a director who has only been working on visual effects for almost 30 years, and a cast that only seems interested in the paycheck and not their characters is what really ruins this film from being, not just a good movie, but also an enjoyable experience.

Presentation:

Legion looks great on blu-ray! For the most part, this is a dark movie, but the scenes that take place outside, during the day are very bright and detailed. Close-ups of faces are extremely detailed, and the closeups of the smoke that comes off of the guns looks very sharp. The Heaven based scenes are easily the most impressive and detailed scenes in the movie. The film stays sharp and crisp throughout, giving a very clear image that will satisfy blu-ray owners.

Audio:

An English and French 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track is provided on this disc. Dialogue is always clear and the sound effects are strong and crisp. Some of the sound effects can actually be too loud and could trick you into thinking it's real (the dog barking, and the sound from the rain). The most annoying part is in the beginning during the "please stand by" tone from the televesion. That sound goes on for almost 30 seconds, so prepare to have your ears pierced.

Bonus Material:

• Creating the Apocalypse (1080p, Runtime 23:43) - A short making-of feature, also focuses on the baby, the crazy grandma and the ice cream man.
• Humanity's Last Line of Defense (1080p, Runtime 11:32) - Focuses on the cast and characters.
• From Pixels to Picture (1080p, Runtime 10:57) - An in-depth look at the special effects.
• Bringing Angels to Earth - a video commentary and behind the scene features and cast and crew interviews that runs during the film. As good as this featurette is, I feel this would've worked better as a seperate feature instead of a picture-in-picture commentary.
• BD-Live
• Sony movieIQ
• Trailers (1080p) - Chloe, Wild Things: Foursome, The Road, 2012, The Da Vinci Code, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans

Bottom Line:

I really wanted to like this movie, but instead what we have here is a bad movie trapped inside a good blu-ray. The disc looks and sounds great, and the bonus features are worth checking out, but the movie is lacking alot. If you're intrigued, give it a rental, otherwise, avoid this movie.