The Last Legion (2007)

 Hail Cheeser!
"The Last Legion" is the kind of bad movie that reminded me of those 1980's kiddie "swords and sorcery" flicks such as "Sword of the Valiant" or "Lionheart" which would be released straight-to-video before being put on heavy rotation on HBO and Cinemax. As I wasted part of youth watching such cheesefests, I can recall that occasionally one would feature a prominent actor slumming for a paycheck such Sean Connery in "Sword of the Valiant" or Gabriel Byrne in "Lionheart." So I will give the producers of "The Last Legion" credit because they were able to come up with the cash to entice not just one but several very good British actors to join their cast: Ben Kingsley, Colin Firth, Peter Mullan, and Kevin McKidd. Upon watching this movie my biggest question was: did those actors really need the paycheck that badly?

"The Last Legion" is a tepid "historical" action movie that may be entertaining to bored 9-12 yr boys channel surfing on a dreary Saturday afternoon. It just reeks of stale cheese- such as when you see that masked Eastern Empire bodyguard and EVERYONE knows that when the mask comes off it will reveal an exotic beauty who is so skilled in martial arts that she can kill a hundred men without her mascara smearing. It's laughably ridiculous! Further, the film unfortunately features Thomas Sangster- the British version of Macaulay Culkin except even more annoying and with less talent. There really is no point to analysing the plot of this movie- it's a silly mishmash of action/adventure movie cliches that were stale back in 1985. May 8, 2008

 what the heck?
Well, this was a really interesting idea with lots of potential. Good actors, great settings, cool costumes and a neat story but this movie fails completely. The acting is rather stiff, the whole story is told far too quickly without a lot of detail, and you don't really care who wins, though I found myself rooting for the Goths. This would have been a fantastic movie done in the same way 20yrs ago but by todays standards the movie lacks a great deal. April 15, 2008

 Somewhat silly but not terrible
I had expected better based on the previews. It was an interesting spin on the idea of a Roman genesis for the Arthurian legend but there was some silliness along the way. Things started going downhill with the introduction of the warrior-chick from Byzantium (yeah, she's hot but not very believable). Then they walk all the way to Britian through Gaul (followed, of course by the bad guys). Etc, etc.

Overall the plot is weak and predictable. No acting or dialogue to get excited about. There are some cool fight-scenes, in spite of super-chick. It was a stretch but TLL did make an interesting connection between Rome and King Arthur.

Not recommended. April 2, 2008

 No Classic, But Old-Fashioned Epic Fun...
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!
March 23, 2008

 Too many previews
I am giving one star to this because an anti-smoking ad and no less than four lengthy previews are too much to have to sit through just to get a chance to watch a movie, particularly when one has paid $19.99 to have it at one's command, on DVD!

While the previews were in progress, I could discover no way to advance the DVD to the principal menu. Outrageous, and not deserving of one dime of the consumer's money. March 4, 2008

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