Legion (2010 film)

Legion

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Scott Stewart
Produced by
  • David Lancaster
  • Michel Litvak
Written by
  • Peter Schink
  • Scott Stewart
Starring
Music by John Frizzell
Cinematography John Lindley
Edited by Steven Kemper
Production
company
Distributed by Screen Gems
Release dates
  • January 22, 2010 (2010-01-22)
Running time
 100 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $26 million[2]
Box office $67.9 million[2]

Legion is a 2010 American apocalyptic supernatural action film directed by Scott Stewart and co-written by Stewart and Peter Schink. The cast includes Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Adrianne Palicki, Kate Walsh, and Dennis Quaid. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group acquired most of this film's worldwide distribution rights, and the group opened this film in North America theatrically on January 22, 2010 through Screen Gems.[3]

A television series called Dominion, set 25 years after the end of the film, premiered on the American cable television network Syfy on June 19, 2014.[4]

Plot

The Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) falls to Earth in Los Angeles and cuts off his wings. He is confronted by police officers, one of whom becomes possessed by another angel, forcing Michael to kill them both and steal their car. He travels towards the Paradise Falls Diner, near the edge of the Mojave Desert. Meanwhile, Kyle (Tyrese Gibson), a single father driving to Los Angeles, stops at the diner. He meets the owner, Bob Hanson (Dennis Quaid); Bob's son, Jeep (Lucas Black); Percy (Charles S. Dutton), the short-order cook; Charlie (Adrianne Palicki), a pregnant waitress; Howard (Jon Tenney) and Sandra (Kate Walsh) Anderson, a married couple; and Audrey (Willa Holland), their rebellious teenage daughter. An old woman (Jeanette Miller) enters the diner and begins taunting the diner's patrons. When Howard confronts her, she rips his throat open, screeches that they are all going to die, and climbs up the ceiling. Kyle shoots her before she can kill Jeep. Percy, Kyle, Sandra, Audrey and Charlie try to get Howard to the hospital but they are forced to turn back after passing through a swarm of locust.

Michael arrives and arms the patrons as the entire sky turns black. Hundreds of cars approach, filled with more possessed people who begin to attack the diner. Michael leads the patrons in the fight, but Howard is dragged away. Later, Michael explains that God has lost faith in mankind and has sent His angels to destroy the human race just as he once sent a flood. He also reveals that Charlie's baby must stay alive, as it is destined to be the savior of mankind; Michael disobeyed God's order to kill Charlie's baby, as he still has faith in humanity. The next morning, Sandra discovers Howard crucified behind the restaurant and covered with huge boils. She tries to rescue him, but he violently explodes into acid. Percy dies shielding Sandra from the blast. Sandra is driven insane and must be restrained. Meanwhile, the remaining survivors hear a radio transmission that reveals there are other pockets of resistance. One such refuge is nearby, but Michael advises them not to go, since they would be too vulnerable on the move.

That night, a second wave of possessed attack. Kyle is lured into a trap and killed (he survives in alternate ending) and Charlie goes into labor. Audrey and Michael help her deliver the baby as trumpets sound, signaling the approach of the Archangel Gabriel (Kevin Durand). In a panic, Sandra breaks her restraints and tries to give the baby to the possessed, but Michael kills her. Moments later, Gabriel enters the diner and seriously injures Bob. Michael urges the group to escape and tells Jeep to "find the prophets, learn to read the instructions". The hordes of possessed humans are unable to approach Charlie's baby; Jeep, Audrey, Charlie, and the baby go to Michael's cruiser. Gabriel and Michael fight to a standstill before Gabriel stabs Michael through the chest with his morning star. Michael dies and his body disappears. Dying, Bob uses a lighter engraved "hope" to ignite the diner's gas main and blow up the diner, incinerating himself and the remaining possessed.

In the car tattoos that had previously been on Michael's body begin to cover Jeep's body; Jeep concludes that the tattoos are the instructions he must learn to read. Gabriel suddenly reappears and grabs onto the fleeing car. Audrey jumps on him and yells at Jeep to slam on the brakes, sending her and Gabriel through the front windshield as the car crashes and buying Jeep and Charlie time to get away but Audrey is killed in the process. Eventually Gabriel corners them in the nearby mountains but before he can kill Charlie or the baby Jeep jumps onto his back, sending them both falling down the mountain. As Gabriel prepares to kill Jeep, he asks Jeep why they continued to fight the angels even though all hope seemed to be lost. Just then, Michael suddenly descends from Heaven, an Archangel once again. Michael tells Gabriel that even though Gabriel gave God what He asked for, Michael had given God what He needed, giving humanity another chance; God's plan was to test His angels and Gabriel had failed Him. Ashamed, Gabriel leaves. Michael explains to Jeep that he is the child's true protector and that they will see Michael again, before flying away. Charlie and Jeep reach the top of the mountain and see a small town in the valley below. Sometime later, Charlie, Jeep, and the baby drive away with a station wagon full of weapons.

Cast

Production

Principal photography took place in New Mexico in the summer of 2009.[5]

Release

Box office

Legion was released on January 22, 2010[6] in 2,476 theaters and took in $6,686,233—$2,700 per theater its opening day.[7] On its opening weekend it grossed $17,501,625—$7,069 per theater and placed second behind Avatar.[8] It placed No. 6 on its second weekend, and grossed an estimated $6,800,000—$2,746 per theater, a 61.1% drop from the previous weekend. The film has come to gross $67,918,658 worldwide.[2]

Critical response

The film received negative reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 20% based on reviews from 100 critics, with an average rating average of 3.8 out of 10. The site's general consensus is: "Despite a solid cast and intermittent thrills, Legion suffers from a curiously languid pace, confused plot, and an excess of dialogue."[9] Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 0–100 reviews from film critics, has a rating score of 32% based on 14 reviews.[10]

Paul Nicholasi of Dread Central gave the film a one and a half out of five stars, saying, "The finished product is shockingly bad. If countless angles of people firing guns with spent shells clinking to the ground is all your heart yearns for, then Legion may be your ideal Saturday night. Hoping for anything more is an exercise in futility. Spare yourself the agony."[11] Brad Miska of Bloody Disgusting gave it 1 out of 5 stars, calling it "a prude film with some potential. It's boring, slow paced and it takes itself way too seriously."[12] Variety film critic Joe Leydon gave the film a mixed analysis. Leydon claimed "Even when the blood-and-thunder hokiness of the over-the-top plot tilts perilously close to absurdity, the admirably straight-faced performances by well-cast lead players provide just enough counterbalance to sustain curiosity and sympathy."[13] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter also gave the film a mixed review stating, "the goings-on in Legion are seriously silly (not to mention more than a little derivative of endless movies, especially the Terminator series), but director Scott Stewart has provided enough stylish finesse to make the proceedings a real hoot."[14]

Home media

Legion was released on DVD and Blu-ray on May 11, 2010.[15]

TV spin-off

In 2014, Syfy began airing the television series Dominion, a sequel set 25 years after the end of the film. Scott Stewart, the writer/director of Legion, served as executive producer. Stewart also directed Dominion's pilot episode, which was written by Vaun Wilmott[16] and aired on June 19, 2014.[17]

References

  1. ↑ "LEGION (15)". British Board of Film Classification. January 13, 2010. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Legion (2010)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved July 20, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Sony Pics unit ups Shooman". Login.vnuemedia.com. 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
  4. ↑ "Syfy Announces Premiere Dates for 'Defiance' and 'Dominion'". TV By the Numbers. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
  5. ↑ Michael Fleming (March 27, 2008). "Quaid, Walsh join Stewart's 'Legion'". Variety (Reed Business Information). Retrieved August 11, 2008.
  6. ↑ Miska, Brad (October 16, 2009). "A Whole Lotta 'Legion' Character Banners". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved October 18, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Daily Box Office for Friday, January 22, 2010". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. January 22, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  8. ↑ "Weekend Box Office Results for January 22–24, 2010". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. January 24, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Legion (2010)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved March 2, 2010.
  10. ↑ "Legion: Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved January 27, 2010.
  11. ↑ Nicholasi, Paul (January 22, 2010). "Legion (2010)". Dread Central. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
  12. ↑ Miska, Brad (January 22, 2010). "Legion". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved October 4, 2015.
  13. ↑ Leydon, Joe (January 22, 2010). "Legion Review". Variety. Reed Business Information. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
  14. ↑ Scheck, Frank (January 22, 2010). "Legion – Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media. Archived from the original on January 25, 2010. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
  15. ↑ Barton, Steve (March 15, 2010). "Blu-ray and DVD Specs: Legion". Dread Central. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  16. ↑ Goldberg, Lesley (December 4, 2013). "'Dominion' Ordered to Series at Syfy". The Hollywood Reporter. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  17. ↑ "Syfy Announces Premiere Dates for 'Defiance' and 'Dominion'". TV By the Numbers. Retrieved March 28, 2014.

External links

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