Not even God's grace can save the unorganized "Legion"

by Ken San Nicolas

Director: Scott Steward

Time: 1 hour 50 minutes

Genre: Horror

Starring: Dennis Quaid, Paul Bettany, Tyrese Gibson

While "Legion" brings an interesting twist to the mob of zombie/apocalypse movies that saturate the genre, not even the grace of God can save it from average dialogue and a plot full of holes. While the "Legion" shines early with strong horror elements, the plot quickly veers off course until it's too late for redemption.

"Legion" is the story of Charlie (played by Adrianne Palicki), a pregnant waitress who works at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere - Paradise Falls to be exact. On a routine day, all hell breaks loose and Charlie and 7 other individuals are trapped here to face the apocalypse. Luckily, the angel Michael (Paul Bettany) does not believe that humanity deserves the wrath of God and helps the 8 combat the forces of God determined to kill Charlie's unborn child.

Apparently, God is tired of humanity's decline and instead of sending a flood, he decides to switch it up and turn the remaining humans into zombie-like beings set on killing Michael and his friends. Armed with an assortment of artillery, (what would a fallen angel be if he didn't' have a trunk load of military weaponry at his disposal?) Michael and friends try their best to fend of waves of possessed humans and eventually the angel Gabriel.

This movie isn't terrible. There are a number of moments that will give you that classic chuckle and in my opinion the acting isn't all that bad. Paul Bettany is very charismatic and persuasive in his role as Michael. Dennis Quaid and Tyrese Gibson play very stereotypical characters (a grouchy drunk and a pistol carrying gang banger respectively) but they play these roles well. The movie is actually pretty enjoyable in that the horror elements are standard and effective and the comedy is well-placed and a welcome relief.

Where the movie gets lost though, is in it's "so simple it's complicated" script. I mean, you can't help but wonder why on Earth God is set on killing the 8 remaining humans. At the very least, you expect this to be resolved. However, the movie ends and you still do not know what happened. It's like someone just told you a 2 hour joke that had a couple of laughs in between the delivery, but at the end he forgets to tell you the punchline. This fault probably does not lie on the director - who knows how much content out of the original film could have been cut. 

Of course if you decide to watch a horror flick, you expect the supernatural elements as they are warranted and you can disregard a few plot inconsistencies. But when plot inconsistencies are part of the premise of the film, then the film has issues. This is the case with "Legion." The reason why the humans in the movie have been possessed into a zombie-like craze, is because these humans lacked the moral character or the adequate faith required to resist this possession. Thus, it is easy for God's angels to transform these humans. There are glaring flaws with this premise. First of all, none of the 8 characters in the rest stop are high on the morality scale and 60% of them probably have very little faith in God. How come they aren't being possessed? You mean to tell me an 8 year-old kid is going to be transformed but a pregnant, 21-year old waitress who wants to give up her baby can't be affected? This is just one of 3 or 4 glaring problems with the plot.

At the end of the day, "Legion" is pretty enjoyable. The angel/zombie mixture is quite enjoyable and there are a few chilling episodes in the film. Much of it is pretty comical as well. However, it never comes together at the end and that really destroys the experience.

2 out of 5 stars