Normally, I am a sucker for a film like this: an R-rated action/horror film with angels, guns, violence and Tyrese Gibson. How could this possibly go wrong? I walked into Legion expecting something along the lines of Daybreakers, something fun and gory. But it soon became very clear to me why this film got dumped in January. This is probably one of the safest R-rated films to come out in a while. It’s not so much that I hate Legion for its lackluster story or characters, it’s that with an R-rating you have free reign for over-the-top action. It appears no one told the filmmakers.
The plot’s as simple as they come: Michael, the archangel (Paul Bettany), falls to earth after disobeying an order given by you know who. We learn fairly quickly that he was sent to kill an unborn child, carried by soon-to-be single mom Charlie (Adrianne Palicki). He’s chosen instead to protect the child, who’s birth determines the fate of mankind.
So much of Legion is bogged down with this kind of useless exposition, complimented by pointless character relationships. Again, this would be forgivable if the movie wasn’t trying to be seriously deep. I want to believe that the actors, along with writer/director Scott Stewart, know how ridiculous this concept is and decided to have a little fun. But based on what I saw in the action department, I just can’t.
The real reason this film is rated R is because they use the F word one time to many. The action scenes, instead of being flat out fun, come off as stale and incomplete. In the first real shootout between the humans and the angels, all we really get to see are the many muzzle flashes of automatic weapons. If you are going to give a movie like this an R rating, then show me bullets going into bodies, show me cars exploding. There is only one scene in the entire film that really deserves an R and even that could easily be cut for PG-13.
Did I hate Legion on the same level I hated something like 2012? No, but, I do regret spending $8.75 to see it. This film screams straight-to-DVD with a budget. Heck, it probably would’ve worked better as a straight-to-DVD. Legion is not worth your money at the theater, or its R rating.
2 out of 10
Did the action in Legion do it for you? Or were you disappointed as well?