Legion
(2010/Sony DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: B- Extras: C Film: C
The
Horror genre is the most abused around, but some people are trying to get back
to the roots of its suspense and it is so bad, even a failure like Scott
Stewart’s Legion (2010) has some
good moments, an actual understanding of the genre and even signs of a love of
film; something 99% of Horror filmmakers and other hacks do not. This tale where angels are devils stars Paul
Bettany as Michael, an angel with a secret racing to save a group of people who
are about to be trapped at an isolated diner in the desert.
Turns out
some evil spirits are possessing human bodies to do their attacking, killing
and voicing of cryptic messages and only Michael knows they are building an
army to attack. Besides some good
surprises (which the film needed much more of), the cast including Dennis
Quaid, Charles S. Dutton, Lucas Black, Jon Tenney, Kate Walsh, Adrianne
Palicki, Tyrese Gibson and Kevin Durand among others works well. However, there are other problems.
Besides
being too talky, it looks too much like a James Cameron film and never explains
its alternate idea of the otherworld to us in enough detail at times, so we are
left to fill in whatever writers Scott Stewart and Peter Schink were trying to
convey. Still, you could do worse, so
fans of the genre at least will want to see it once.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image was shot in the Super 35mm format and when
you add the digital video effects, you get softness issues throughout and phony
color to go with it. Some shots to look
good and others are very smart, but I would like to see the Blu-ray or a 35mm
film print to compare as there seems to be more here than we can see in this
format. This is Director of Photography
John Lindley’s best work since Pleasantville back in 1998. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is better with a
good soundfield and some interesting sound effects, though not as impressive as
the recent The New Daughter, with
John Frizzell delivers one of his better scores. Extras include a Behind The Scenes featurette
and trailer.
- Nicholas Sheffo
