Legion is another in the ‘Angels Kick Ass’ category that has sprung up in fantasy
cinema within the last fifteen years or so. Paul Bettany stars as the Archangel
Michael, who has a major disagreement with the Big Guy Upstairs on the eve of
the apocalypse. Michael comes down to Earth (literally!) and cuts off his wings,
all the better to help a disparate group of people at a lonely desert diner to
fend off an attack by the army of the apocalypse. These gnarly soldiers, who
look like zombies with really bad teeth, are weak-willed ordinary folk who have
been taken over by the forces of God in a mass possession that would have really
given Father Merrin from the Exorcist an enormous headache.
The reason Michael arrives at this desert diner--armed with the latest in
machine gun and grenade-launching weaponry; all the better to help the locals fight off the
possessed God squad--is so that he can help protect the unborn child of Charlie,
a waitress who works there. Apparently, the soon to be born little tyke is the
savior of mankind who will lead the human race out of its present dark age. But
the Man Upstairs and his undead army have other plans for the little savior. If
this sounds a lot like the Terminator, bear in mind that director Scott Steward,
who directs these proceedings with a brisk pace, does not really discourage any
comparisons to James Cameron’s film.
In fact, during the opening sequence when Michael arrives on earth, he comes
across a pair of cops--and it reminded me so much of Terminator that I half
expected him to pull a gun and demand to know what year it was, just as Kyle
Reese did when he first arrived from the future. Yet, despite the derivative
nature of Legion, I still enjoyed it for what it was: a full-bore action film
that’s essentially a twist on the zombie stand-off that’s been seen in such
classics as Dawn Of The Dead. Other than the fact that it might tick off the
religiously-inclined by making God out to be a really fickle bastard with some
nasty mood swings, Legion is a fast-paced, scary and just plain enjoyable ride
that’s a lot of fun.
What really sold the film for me, other than the tight, self-assured direction,
was the superb cast, led by Bettany, who gives a properly earnest performance as
Michael. Former child star Lucas Black stars as the vehicular-named Jeep, who
wants nothing more than to take care of Charlie--even though he’s not the father
of Charlie’s baby. Dennis Quaid is as sturdy as ever as Jeep’s dad, and the
always good Charles S. Dutton shines as a short order cook who thought he'd seen
it all, until now. And Kate Walsh, better known from TV’s Private Practice, is
also very good here as the self-absorbed McMansion wife who just can’t accept
the weird stuff that’s happening all around her. From the wall-crawling granny
who spews curses to the major show down between the angels at the end, Legion is
pure bliss for both action and zombie movie fans.
--SF
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