The Last Legion

Posted In: Legion

Wan Blaydes says...

Not great, but enjoyable in it's own way. Likeable cast. Needs a more sure-handed director...and a more fleshed out script. The story framework was there, and a decent crew of characters...but not executed to it's full potential.

Posted on May 29, 2011

Helene Beets says...

I enjoyed this movie very much; the battle scenes were convincing and most of the actors did a good job, especially the beautiful, if somewhat out of place, Indian woman.I enjoyed how they tied the mysterious fate of Flavius Romulus Augustulus - the last Roman Emperor in the West - in with Arthurian tradition.



The story is set in Rome in the late 5th Century.The Gothic King Odoacer takes the city and ousts the boy-emperor Romulus, who he banishes to the island-fortress of Capri.Accompanying Romulus are his teacher, the wizard Ambrosinus, and a bitter Gothic lord who believed that Odoacer should have killed the young Caesar.In the meantime, the commander of Romulus' guard, Aurelius, leads a small contingent of elite warriors, including a female Indian warrior, to rescue the emperor.Their travels take them to Britain, where they clash with a local warlord who joins forces with the vengeful Gothic chief, and they call upon the retired Ninth Legion to aid them in their final battle with the barbarians.Romulus also acquires the fabled sword of Julius Caesar, Caliburnus.The movie ends after having revealed the true identity of Ambrosinus, and Romulus' son.



Others have already made it clear that this movie is historically inaccurate, and I agree with them.Mistakes that particularly irked me were the barbarization of the Goths, who look little more than ape-men in the movie, and the depiction of 5th Century Roman senators and legionaries dressed and armored the same as their 2nd Century ancestors.



Overall, though, it was a decent movie that had me involved enough to be worrying for the sake of certain characters by the end.

Posted on May 30, 2011

Clyde Erway says...

This is actually a 2-and-a-half star review of THE LAST LEGION.



This film purports to reveal the beginnings of the King Arthur myth. Legend says that a sword was once created for Julius Caesar, a sword forged from a fallen star in the barbaric land of Brittania. Down the long years, this sword, intertwined with a prophecy declaring its possessor to be "he who is destined to rule," was lost and in time became a mere rumor.



The year now is 460 A.D. Aurelius Antonius (Colin Firth) finds himself recalled to Rome and is assigned the Commander of the new Caesar's retinue of personal bodyguards. This new Caesar is twelve-year-old Romulus Augustus (Thomas Sangster of LOVE, ACTUALLY and NANNY MCPHEE), destined to be crowned as Rome's last emperor. His reign lasts for one day and ends with Rome being run over by the savage Goths. In the resulting invasion, most of Aurelius's men are killed and the young Caesar is captured and imprisoned in the forbidding Isle of Capri. Aurelius, with the very few legionnaires left him, undertakes a rescue mission, with the assistance of a mysterious Byzantine warrior, who turns out to be a beautiful, very lethal woman named Mira (Aishwarya Rai).



Against impossible odds and tons of sword fights, Romulus Augustus is rescued. But, now, he and his faithful legionnaires have run out of options but one. With the Roman legions having just sworn allegiance to the Goths, the one remaining hope lies in the forgotten 9th Legion, called the Dragon legion, which had been assigned to remote Brittania many years ago. But the Goths persist in their pursuit, and, in old Britain, Aurelius, Romulus, and their tiny band face a new peril. And the 9th Legion, which they had pinned their hopes on, is not what it once was...



So I walked into the movie theater with diminished expectations. I'd been waiting for THE LAST LEGION to reach U.S. soil for many months now. During that time, I haven't heard a lot of positive buzz about the film and the trailer, when it came out, didn't exactly pump me up. But never mind. The reason I still chose to watch this one was for Aishwarya Rai, who has a major role here. The American audience will mostly know her from the two indie films, Bride and Prejudice and The Mistress of Spices. But she's the biggest female star in India, and I count her to be the most beautiful woman in the world. If you're curious about Aishwarya in her native Hindi/Bollywood roles, please check out Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas (2 Disc Set), Chokher Bali, and/or Raincoat. In these films, she proves that she can act. Here, not so much.



Roman togas and sandals vie with the Arthurian myth. This movie is based on Italian historical novelist Valerio Massimo Manfredi's 2002 best seller book. I hope he got paid well, because he now has to live with this adaptation. Doug Lefler makes his directing debut here. He's had prior experience as the 2nd-unit director under the frenetic Sam Raimi in ARMY OF DARKNESS, A SIMPLE PLAN, and SPIDER-MAN. And, certainly, the action scenes border on decent to pretty darn good, especially when Mira is in action. But when there aren't vicious Goths or barbaric Brits to clobber, the film falls into a stupor. There's an abundance of plodding moments, including several unconvincing romantic scenes between Mira and Aurelius. When Mira cheesily tells him, "Nothing will ever part us again.", I cringed.



The acting let me down. Young Thomas Sangster just doesn't exude a commanding presence, let alone a regal aura. True, he's a kid and newly crowned, but his royal speeches aren't persuasive or inspiring. It's too bad as he was quite good in LOVE, ACTUALLY. Sangster's big moment comes when he confronts his tormentor and the slayer of his parents, but that sequence plays as perfunctory and half-hearted. As a climax to the big battle, it's not at all rousing. Regarding Aishwarya Rai, she has never looked more breathtaking, but her acting's been better. It's a good thing she has such a physical part here to distract the audience, because she's pretty wooden with her line delivery. She hasn't played such a rigorous action heroine before (she did play a thief in Dhoom 2), and she underwent some serious training (including some instruction in sword fighting) to get in shape for this one. She comes off well in her fight scenes. Her character Mira is such a gifted warrior that, at the age of 14, she had attained the 7th level of her particular school of martial arts. Aurelius wonders aloud how many levels there are. Mira matter-of-factly states, "Seven." But, let's face it, Aishwarya is featured here for the drool factor. I get the feeling she knew what kind of movie she was in but just wanted to get a foot in the door of mainstream Hollywood. When I saw her for the first time as she emerges from the water, her captivating eyes and gorgeous face instantly made the movie worth it. Lucky Colin, to play her love interest. Even in the cliff climbing scene, when Aurelius's noggin was being trampled on by Aishwarya's booted feet, I kept on thinking, "Lucky bloke."



Ben Kingsley, sad to say, sleepwalks thru his role of Ambrosinus. Man, what happened to him? From Gandhi to a crap role in BLOODRAYNE to this. The best actor here is Colin Firth, who isn't normally the most dynamic of thespians but who mostly gets by on British reserve and a certain quiet charm. I did think his speech to his warriors near the end was borderline stirring.



Not a lot of CG, but plenty of flesh and bone stunts, which lends a gritty texture to the film. THE LAST LEGION pales in comparison to the flashier sword and sandal epics like 300 (Two-Disc Special Edition). This one is more like the modest The 13th Warrior in its no frills B-movie elements. Director Doug Lefler reveals his inexperience in several areas. Some of my carpings: The sacking of Rome is presented in disjointed fashion and lacks the cinematic treatment it deserves, leaving me with a palpable cheated feeling. When Romulus is crowned and faces his subjects, that camera shot could've been more sweeping. The movie has one of its characters spouting a line designed to make you buy into the fact that there are thousands of invaders approaching, when in fact you only see a hundred or so bad guys storming out of the woods. There's a stone carving of Julius Caesar's face of which push button eyes are so plainly apart from the rest of the carving that it's a wonder no one's ever played around with 'em before and thus gained its secret. And, since I'm nitpicking, although I understand that there weren't many defenders there, the hails of arrows from the good guys looked pathetic. Lastly, the picture has a PG-13 rating, so it holds back on actually depicting scenes of folks getting punctured with spears and axes and such. If it was going for an epic feel, then it should've gone full out blood and guts.



The nitty gritty: THE LAST LEGION is a B-movie product which aspires to be an epic period actioner, but falls short. In its poor man's sword and sandal sensibilities and moderately scaled production values, this film settles somewhere in the middle of the pack. Because I'm such a big fan of Aishwarya, I was gonna see this one, no matter what. Folks who aren't as enamoured of her or who don't even know who she is are advised to wait for the dvd. Fair warning.

Posted on May 31, 2011

Lyla Tetzloff says...

The Last Legion brings to the screen the fictional attempt by Rome's last emperor, Flavius Romulus Augustus, a.k.a. Romulus Augustulus, to rally the last remaining loyal legion, the Ninth a.k.a. the Dragon Legion, stationed in Britannia, in order to expel the Goths and resume control of the Empire.

The Year is 460 A.D., 65 years since the death of Roman Emperor Theodosius the Great and the subsequent division of the Empire among his sons: the Western Roman Empire left to Honorius, and the Eastern Roman Empire left to Arcadius.Following Odoacer's treachery, his Goths have taken control of Rome forcing the young emperor to flee in search for possible allies for his possible return.His journey will take him to Hadrian's Wall in the far Northwestern part of the crumbling Western Roman Empire.

The major setbacks are in relation to:

1) Romulus Augustulus did not come to power until 475, the year before the collapse of the Western Roman Empire.Why would anybody want to change the date?

2) The Eastern Roman Empire never recognized Orestes, Romulus Augustulus, or Odoacer.

3) The battle/fight scenes could have been much better and much more realistic.

Aside from that, the setting, the acting, the dialogues and the costumes are all wonderful!

The movie relies mostly on a British cast, namely Thomas Sangster, Colin Firth, John Hannah, Ben Kingsley, Alexander Siddig (from Star Trek DS9 and Kingdom of Heaven) and Aishwarya Rai (who is GORGEOUS!).They and the rest of this AMAZING cast have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are outstanding to say the least!All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows!

In conclusion, though not a masterpiece, The Last Legion will surely provide for an evening's entertainment.It is a movie definitely worth watching and one to seriously consider adding to your movie collection, especially for those with a soft spot for History and all things Roman.4.5 Stars

Posted on May 31, 2011

Deshawn Schrecengost says...

After reading the reviews, I was prepared to view a horrible movie. I was surprised that it was merely bad and not as terrible as many reviewers said it was. Sometimes a movie is so incredibly awful it's fun watching. This one, unfortunately, was just plain bad and painful to sit through. Colin Firth's acting was wooden. In fact, he showed more emotion in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE and more fighting spirit in BRIDGET JONES' DIARY. The plot was onion paper thin, the attempts at comedic lightness were juvenile, and the rest of the characters one-dimensional...e.g., the noble Nubian, the kung-fu master, er, I mean, mistress from India, the ultra-barbaric Barbarian leader of the Goths, the power mad Druid-in-the-Golden-Mask. I agree with the other reviewers here that some very good British actors were wasted in this mediocre movie (e.g., Ben Kingsley, Colin Firth, Kevin McKidd). The book by Manfredi was better, taking the main characters on a dangerous flight from Rome, over the Alps, across Gaul, to finally stand up to those Gothic bullies in Britannia; however, the English translation of the novel from the Italian left much to be desired. I really have to give THE LAST LEGION 1 & 1/2 stars.

Posted on May 31, 2011

Andre Didyk says...

I don't care that it's historically inaccurate (for heaven's sake, like King Arthur is historically accurate?!).This was a fun movie, with drama, romance, fight scenes, nifty costumes, and a happy ending.There was a refreshing lack of overdone "spectacle," with sweep skilfully suggested rather than shown -- this movie doesn't beat you over the head with CGI anything.The casting created a refreshingly un-Hollywood take on the stock characters: the taciturn commander has a sly sense of humor, the mystic is making most of it up as he goes, the girl doesn't go "soft" to the point of complete uselessness, and the men have served together for years and it shows in their interactions, both verbal and nonverbal.And the kid grows up believably -- he doesn't turn into a venerable statesman overnight.



I do wish the DVD had the extended cut, and not just the deleted scenes.But I liked seeing the fights choreographed, and from the "making of" documentary, it would seem that the cast had as much fun making it as I had watching it.Another reviewer wrote something to the effect of "one star for the cast, one for Rome, and one for King Arthur," to which I would add one: just because.

Posted on May 31, 2011

Earline Keiper says...

Okay, "The Last Legion" won't have you proclaiming it as the successor to "Gladiator" and "The Fall of the Roman Empire", but if your expectations aren't that high, and you enjoy sword-and-sandal epics offering a mix of Imperial Rome and Arthurian England, you may find this a very entertaining adventure...I certainly did!



Part of the reason is the casting, which is far better than you'd expect. Colin Firth is cast against type as a world-weary Roman general, assigned to protect the 12-year old Caesar (Thomas Sangster), and he is terrific, very capable in the action scenes, and with the acting chops to make even the silliest dialog sound believable. Matching him is the gloriously beautiful Indian superstar, Aishwarya Rai, as an Eastern Empire warrior. Her dialog may occasionally be a bit inane, but she has a dancer's grace with a sword, and the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen! As the mystic/tutor of Caesar, Ben Kingsley provides the link between the two legendary cultures, and grounds the film with his calm wisdom.



While the less-than-overwhelming armies betray the film's budget, the scenes of Imperial Rome are quite impressive, and the film does have the mandatory sweeping vistas, and sword-swinging heroics that action fans will enjoy. And as a foundation of Arthurian legend, I found this version far more plausible than the recent "King Arthur".



"The Last Legion" is far better than you might think, based on the reviews; give it a chance, with an open mind...you may be surprised!

Posted on June 1, 2011

Dominque Boehl says...

Hey, what do this film and the book have in common? The title. And that's about it. What could have been a Roman Indiana Jones thriller, is a middle of the road, sword and sandal epic wannabe. Boasting a huge cast and acting potential with the likes of Ben Kingsley and Colin Firth, etc., it just didn't blossom due to a poor screenplay. So why the three stars? Well, I like Ben Kinsley,Colin Firth, and the multitude of other actors many will recognize,gives it one star. Roman history is my bag, and these guys did well for the budget, that's two. The film also deals with the Arthur legend and its beginnings, and who doesn't like King Arthur, a personal preference,that makes three stars. So, if you don't like one or all of these these don't watch it, rent it or buy it, and please don't pirate it! If you do, then give it try, and enjoy a pretty good, old fashion action/adventure movie. The Kid gets the crown, the good guy the girl, and the bad guy the axe, literally.

Posted on June 1, 2011

Keenan Byrd says...

The last legion was based partly in manfredis' best selling novel of the same title and it was a great part historical part fiction drama which shoyld have been at least one hour LONGER as we didn't saw what happened from the time they left italy until they reached britain.

The whole gaul adventure was ignored and we didn't got much of odoacers' policy towards the new sole roman emperor reighning in new rome.

476 was considered before as the end of the roman empire which was wrong because odoacer united the east with the west by axcepting the eastern roman emperor as sole emperor of the east and the west and this was told in this movie but we didn't get to see much of it.

Anyways this movie is great. Apart from the fact that romulus never went to britain and had nothing to do with...arthur most of other things happened in reality.

Another great historical/fiction movie which deserves to be in your dvd collection.

Posted on June 6, 2011

Terrell Freie says...

The Last Legion is a wonderful tale of the search for the last true Romans in the far hinterlands of the Roman Empire at a time when Rome itself had fallen to the barbarians.It provides a view of how people lived in early Britain and the mythos of that far off time.The introduction of "Merlin" the teacher and the young roman leader who sired King Arthur imagines a prefect back story for the legend of Arthur and Camelot.I have always been fascinated by the legends of Arthur and this story fills in the blanks very neatly.

Posted on June 6, 2011