allisnow

Watched Legion this afternoon, just because it was something to do. I remember almost going to see this in theaters, because I love angel mythology (part of the reason I love Sharon Shinn's Samaria books, I think) and the premise seemed kind of cool.

Anyhoo, there were parts that were cool, and the cast was actually above what I expected, but the plot was rather muddled and there was no follow-through. It was basically another boilerplate 'one group is trying to kill an unborn baby while the other is trying to save it' story (i.e. the original Terminator) mixed in with the standard 'group of people stranded in the middle of nowhere who get picked off one by one' story (i.e. almost every slasher movie ever made). Which would have been forgivable if the result had actually been crafted with some forethought. Why is Charlie's baby important? Who was the father?

Aside: There's the sense from the end, where Michael talks about the instructions (the transfer of the tattoos from Michael to Jeep were actually one of the parts I liked), that the writers were hoping for a sequel in which to explain the importance of the baby, but that doesn't seem very likely. Unless SyFy picks up the option, but then they'll just introduce a gigantic reptile of some form or another into the mix and it'll all go to hell. Literally.

Anyhoo. Jeep was likable, but I was hoping to actually see more of the transformation from weenie to kick-ass. Charlie was sort of annoying, although I did feel sorry for her. The other characters weren't anything special. And Michael... well, he was a rather hot angel. What's not to like?

(In my version of the movie, of course, Michael ends up somehow being the baby's father, which helps explain its future importance, being half-angelic and all. Michael, however, kept it a secret since he knew that sort of thing isn't kosher. He admired Jeep and steered Charlie towards him, knowing that Jeep would take care of them. But then God went and got 'tired of the b***s***' and Michael had to go down and protect them, not simply because the baby might some day save mankind (because why would mankind be in trouble if God changed His mind about destroying humanity?) but because it's his family... a better family, perhaps, than the one he knew in Heaven. See, wasn't that better? I would even have let them keep in Crazy Grandma.)