When the last angel falls, the fight of mankind will begin......on the forums on imdb.com

Before traveling a mile down the street to see this film, at my brother's expense, I looked this film up on imdb.com after seeing an enticing trailer for it. I curiously and regrettably clicked on the forum link which redirected me to a hodgepodge of users who claim the movie is racist (because it has to be for some reason!) and Christian enthusiasts who believe that the film is sacrilegious. Not surprising by any means, but I suppose that’s the point of these kinds of films, right? To spit in the face of Christianity? It would seem to the blatantly daft moronic individual that all Hollywood wants to do is to shove their sacrilege into the ass of faith but I, not being a blatantly daft moronic individual, need to believe that that’s not what Hollywood is insinuating when they produce these end-of-days reruns.
In, "Legion," the first thing Paul Bettany’s character Michael the archangel does when he arrives in Los Angeles two days before Christmas is slice off his wings and kill a cop. If this behavior strikes you as un-angelic, wait'll you learn that he's actually the good guy!
This dense slab of end-of-the-world hokum isn't "bad," per se. It's actually reasonably enjoyable as far as these things go. The plot of the film involves an out-of-the-way diner in the middle of nowhere (cliché but I suppose that’s convenient for the producers who don’t want to give up a ton of money for a project they wouldn’t bet on) where a ragtag group of one-dimensional players are caught right in the middle of an impending apocalypse.
Mysterious things begin to occur at first. The radio and phones go out. Then the TV goes to a screen that says, “This is not a test.” One of the diner customers says that there is nothing to worry about: "It's one of those test things." Someone else replies, "This don't look like no test." He probably bases his assessment of the situation on the fact that the TV screen specifically says it is not a test. If this is how intelligent the humans are, then maybe I can see God's point after all.
Now here is where those Christian bloggers call the film into question. Apparently, a depressed and over-reactive God has lost faith in humanity for the second time, hitting Noah the first time with a flood but now he’s downright exterminating people with his legion of Angels who have possessed weak-minded people (Demon-style) to turn against the strong.
Apparently, they’ve expanded the term ‘strong’ to include Lucas Black’s character Jeep, who is saturated in his own self-doubt; can’t even fire a gun or admit his true feelings for a girl. His father Bob Hanson, portrayed by Dennis Quaid (of course!), who separated himself from society by buying a shitty diner called Paradise Falls in nowhereville after his wife divorced him. And a pregnant girl named Charlie who finds out that her unborn baby is the key to humanity’s survival. Well, you can thank God for one thing in this film even if he’s trying to kill everybody…that she never fell down a flight of stairs in those eight months.
Oddly enough, Charlie never asks why her baby was chosen (I guess they threw darts at a phonebook when they decided this). But seriously, wouldn’t it have been easier for God to have someone accidentally shove Charlie down a flight of stairs before wasting a small army of his Angels on her at the same time the world ends? Thank god the writers were cheap enough to conveniently surround her by a group of people who instinctively knew how to use a gun right before the apocalypse came and to have God decide to have his emotional breakdown right when one of his angels has a stroke of conscious. I suppose that’s why they have a black guy who lost his arm in some war (I’m guessing, this wasn’t elaborated on) and another stereotypical ghetto thug who you know already had a gun. I suppose that’s how the film is racist as I previously mentioned before. But that’s not enough; they also have a teenage girl who could use guns as well because that wasn’t convenient for the plot either.
And Michael, a rebellious Angel that is denying God by protecting Charlie from a horde of Demon-Angels (whatever you’d call them) that are going to kill it from liberating the world when it grows up. But why would God create a baby that he knew would eventually compromise his plan of extermination? Unless for some reason, God did this on purpose to test Man’s strength and endurance but what sense does that make?
The plot makes little attempt at making sense, so a lot of this has to be interpreted and inferred because simply adding it into dialogue to move the plot further was too challenging for the writers. A good percentage of the dialogue is corny; Jeep even used the line “will we ever see you again?” A brilliant plot device 50 years ago that once signaled suspense but now its dialogue filler that furthers Lucas Black’s one sided character Jeep. Which I guess in retrospect, you can’t blame him for. The movie has virtually no progression whatsoever so it’s hard for the characters to ever really develop.
The film itself however is fun and entertaining at times. The action sequences keep you in your seat when you feel yourself falling out of it and having somewhat enjoyable characters and some neat special effects which is why I went to see the film anyway. I especially enjoy Gabriel, one of God’s Angels that battles Michael, and his metal wings that deflect gun bullets and are a sort of weapon. A nifty use for them I suppose other than flying. I appreciate the character’s consistency as well, never once giving into Michael’s preaching of what God needs instead of what he wants.
The film could have been longer, allowing more time for the plot to truly develop and make complete sense but I suppose it’s going for that cult favorite type of film but if it had decided to choose a genre first like horror or epic (because it transitions between these many times) than maybe it could achieve a cult following. But at this point, it just barely falls under a B movie category.
It makes perfect sense for Christian believers to blog about how the film hates God and all that stupid jazz but after seeing the film, that’s not what the film is conveying here. Despite its easily fixable flaws, its point is that despite how terrible the world had become and how people kill others on a routinely basis, there is still good in the world and it’s worth fighting for. We may go to war over childish reasons but what we are really fighting for is that small percentage of good that still exists in the world. That no matter how bad things get, that there is and always will be something to fight for which is what Michael did. Michael saw the good in people through Jeep and despite humanity’s flaws; it is still a world worth protecting. That love and friendship outweighs all the destruction we cause for it. That’s what we should take away from this movie. Or maybe Hollywood is evil and it wants to shove it’s anti-religion down our throats. Whatever you believe, is for you to decide.

Grade: C

First Post!!!!

Hello, future followers. This is the first post of my new blog. I sincerely hope you enjoy my blog. It's full of chocolatey goodness and now it's in 20 flavors! .... But in all seriousness, take my blog only as seriously as you think you should. Some come to think of me as a strange individual but I am protest by saying that I am a revolutionary. One day, the world will see me as the go-to guy in the decision of liking something or disliking something or seeing something before it comes out, etc. We will judge things accurately and fairly. We will not be idiots. We will not be slaves to the industry. We will be great and we will be cruel to the world. Today is the start of the Anti-Ignorance Liberation!!!