Legion (January 22, 2010) R

Starring:
Paul Bettany (The Da Vinci Code 2006, Priest 2011)
Lucas Black (The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift 2006)
Dennis Quaid (Pandorum 2009, Soul Surger 2011)
Tyrese Gibson (Transformers 2007, Transformers 3 2011)
Adrianne Palicki (Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II 2008, Red Dawn 2010)
Charles S. Dutton (Secret Window 2004, The Obama Effect 2010)
Willa Holland ("The O. C." 2006-2007, Straw Dogs 2011)
Kevin Durand (X-Men Origins: Wolverine 2009, Robin Hood 2010)

Going into the theater I didn't expect much in the way of creativity or "film art" from Legion. I've seen Paul Bettany play the same character in so many other movies--dramatic, serious, and breathy. Part of what drew me to this movie was Kevin Durand, the rest was knowing that if the movie was terrible, it would at least be entertaining.

The film wasn't completely terrible, though. It had a few moments. It touched on the psychological as well as the Biblical--in a very non-Biblical way of course.

The plot lays out exactly as the trailer explains: God has lost faith in mankind, but he already promised not to flood the earth again. So to wipe out mankind, he's sending angels. Paul Bettany is an angel, but he doesn't want to kill mankind, so he comes to Paradise Falls (coincidental town name?) to rescue a pregnant girl whose child is the only hope humanity has of survival.

Sounds lame? Yeah, it pretty well is, but the film-makers did a lot with what crap they had to work with. I'm sure an ensemble cast helped a little... I have yet to see a Bettany or Durand movie I didn't love.

And what was very grabbing was the enchanges between Bettany and Durand. I'd love to see them do more movies together. I can't wait to see Durand play Little John, fictional histories favorite side-kick.

The film also had cool fighting and action scenes. Lots of guns.

Factoid: Paul Bettany went on record saying that the reason he accepted his role was because it was a kind of role he's never played before. Lots of guns.