At first glance, you might wonder, “What could be better than angels with machine guns?” Legion is your typical apocalyptic film only this time, it’s angels that are coming down from the heavens to wreak havoc on the world and exterminate all of humanity.

The Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) has been sent to earth by God to carry out a mission. In defiance, Michael sides with a group of humans to protect the last remaining chance humanity has at surviving; a young waitress named Charlie whose unborn child is the savior.

As the Armageddon approaches, the group of strangers and Michael make their last stand at the rest stop, Paradise Falls. Will it be enough to hold off God and all his angels including the powerful Archangel Gabriel though?

The cast appears excellent with the likes of Paul Bettany, Denis Quaid, Kevin Durand and Tyrese Gibson. For what it was, they all do a decent job too. Unfortunately, the main protagonist of the film is also the weakest character; Lucas Black as Jeep.

First of all, what kind of name is Jeep? It’s difficult to take the apocalypse seriously when you have some southern boy running around named Jeep. Let’s not forget the fact that he acts like an idiot half the time and should have probably been the first one killed off.

Legion’s story is laughable at best. While the premise is interesting, the execution is weak. You can see this from the trailer with the crazy old woman climbing on walls and biting people. Throw in some cheesy one-liners and it becomes a borderline B-horror film, only the film attempts to be serious and isn’t exactly horror.

Many things are left unexplained as well. Why is Charlie’s baby so important? Sure, he’s to become the next leader of the world but why? The same question can be asked about the prophets and the tattoos we see on Michael. A little more of an explanation would have been nice.

The film isn’t a total failure though. Some of the best scenes come from the angels themselves, specifically Michael and Gabriel. From looking at it from a purely action point of view, the battles between the two archangels are pretty awesome. The design, from the armor to their metallic wings, is fantastic. Had the film featured just the two of them, it would have easily been an A.

Take Legion with a grain of salt. You’ll definitely have a few laughs, mostly at Jeep, but it’s definitely watchable. The action sequences are what keep things going and Paul Bettany proves he is a total badass as a fallen angel. While it attempts to be serious, you pretty much get the feel of the film from one of the opening lines. Something along the lines of, “Why did God want to destroy humanity? I don’t know, perhaps he was tired of their bullshit.” 

Editors Note: Matt attended this movie at the cost of Shakefire on release date as it was not screened for critics