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Legion (2010)

Rating: 2 Stars (out of 4)

Angel, Baby

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

Scott Stewart, of the San Francisco special effects house The Orphanage, makes his directorial debut with Legion, and it's something of a mess, unsuccessfully combining elements of Night of the Living Dead with The Terminator. God has given up on mankind and has sent an army of angels to possess the bodies of the weak and wipe out the rest of humankind. Angel Michael (Paul Bettany) has disobeyed God's order and appears at a remote, rural diner to protect the pregnant waitress Charlie (Adrianne Palicki), whose baby may hold the key to the future. The rest of the humans, an assortment of characters either lost or stuck at the diner, help out. Together, they battle hoards of scary zombie-like creatures but face an even greater challenge when God's backup angel, Gabriel, turns up. The plot doesn't often make sense, especially the question of just why waitress Charlie is "the chosen one." The battles often take place in grimy darkness and the result is often more numbing than it is thrilling. Some of the visual effects on the zombie creatures are nicely creepy, and a solid collection of actors -- including Dennis Quaid and Charles S. Dutton -- makes some of the downtime between violent moments happily bearable.

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Trailer | Soundtrack

With: Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Adrianne Palicki, Charles S. Dutton, Kevin Durand, Jon Tenney, Willa Holland, Kate Walsh, Dennis Quaid, Jeanette Miller, Cameron Harlow, Doug Jones, Josh Stamberg, Yancey Arias
Written by: Scott Stewart, Peter Schink
Directed by: Scott Stewart
MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody violence, and language
Running Time: 100 minutes
Date: January 22, 2010

Please also see my more in-depth review at Common Sense Media