There’s nothing more frustrating than watching a movie that’s unsure of its self.
You know when the hottest girl in the room starts complaining about how she looks fat or ugly and you find your eyes rolling into the back of your head rather focuses on her assets, wishing, praying she will just shut her mouth?
Well, all I wanted was for everyone in Legion to shut the hell up.
The apocalypse, no matter how many times it has been done, will always attract an audience. The end of the world and the realization of our own deaths have been on our minds since the dawn of man. Legion could have been rich with imagery and themes and should have tapped right into our curiosity about the apocalypse but just ends up flapping its gums about a whole lot of nothing.
Legion has a recognizable cast that includes Dennis Quad (you remember Innerespace 1987, right!?), Lucas Black (Friday Night Lights, Fast and Furious; Tokyo Drift), Adrianne Palicki (NBC’s Friday Night Lights), and Paul Bettany (Wimbledon) but unfortunately for them the dialog makes their performances laughable.
Held up in a run down Mojave Dessert truck stop, the fallen angel Michael must protect an unborn child from the wrath of God. The opening sequence of Legion is promising but it doesn’t take long before Scott Stewart, the director, decided that the old adage “show don’t tell” was something he didn’t believe in.
Legion wasn’t all bad, there were some interesting ideas and special effects, most of which you can catch in the trailer. There was an effect lifted right out of Jacobs Ladder (Tim Robbins, 1990) that proved how unimaginative and flat Legion really was. I would have liked to see them take the movie in one direction and stick with it instead of trying to incorporate an ensemble cast to represent every marketing demographic they could think of.
The world almost ended, but I was too busy sending texts on my new Droid to really notice.
My Vote: M16 shells pinging on the pavement and dreary dialog doesn’t mean you made a movie…
Dear Mr. Retter
ReplyDeleteAs though it were an assignment from a teacher or some mission from a charmingly smug guy, who’s arrogance for his clear brilliance manages to get under your skin just enough to entice you into proving him wrong. I felt compelled to write at least 3 defenses for this movie which I thought, was a little more than mediocre.
*The movie was good for the overall goal it was trying to attain. It’s purpose of pointing out many ideals from the bible that have either been lost or simply not cared about were underlined throughout the movie. Like the moral concepts of abortions, war and promiscuity. The poorly dressed young girl in the movie speaking towards the generations that have become caught up in dressing beyond their age. The selfish mother and absent minded father who didn’t show enough care or concern for their daughter who was vying for their attention. These were some examples of common things that happen frequently in society but aren’t looked at as harshly as they should be for the taboos which they are. These examples where shown in the movie with the intent to enlighten.
(Perhaps Mr. Retter you were too busy “sending texts on my new Droid ” as you so stated to capture all of the assets which the movie managed to achieve. I do hope next time you’re in the theater you tear away a glance or two from your new-fangled Droid to catch the subtleties in the movies you watch and review. )
*As far as the suspense thriller movie list goes lately it had some surprises that made me and others in the theater a little squirmy and jumpy. I do agree some of the best parts of the movie were given away in the trailers but how else would you draw in crowds for a movie such as this? Especially with its Oscar nominated competitors such as Avatar, Blind Side and that ridiculous George Clooney movie.
*The effects were great when they appeared for a short moment here and there. It was a little disappointing that they didn’t elaborate more on most of the effects that could have made the movie more mesmerizing.
Even though this is a remake of the 1988 movie The Seventh Sign it decently held it's own.
I remain ever excited (as do all of your readers I’m sure) for the day you write and direct your own movie. To see excellence in your masterful filming skills in a way that audiences never have before in their lives will be an amazing thing to behold.
~ I remain a movie reviewer defending the cinematic works that are so often severely criticized.
Ouch, harsh reveiw caught the trailers for the film decided it would be better to wait and rent instead, and judging from the dissapointed tone in the review I seem to be right.
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