Movie Review for The Last Legion (2007)



Review #508 of 365
Movie Review of The Last Legion (2007) [PG-13] 110 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $12.00
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 20 August 2007
Time: 8:05 pm
DVD Release Date: 18 December 2007 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer

Soundtrack: order the CD below

Directed by: Doug Lefler (Dragonheart: A New Beginning)
Screenplay by: Jez Butterworth (Birthday Girl) • Tom Butterworth (Birthday Girl) with story by Carlo Carlei, Peter Rader, and Valerio Manfredi

Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Colin Firth (Nanny McPhee) • Ben Kingsley (Lucky Number Slevin) • Aishwarya Rai (Dhoom:2) • Peter Mullan (Children of Men) • Kevin McKidd (Hannibal Rising) • John Hannah (Cold Blood 2) • Iain Glen (Kingdom of Heaven) • Thomas Sangster (Tristan + Isolde) • Rupert Friend (Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont) • Nonso Anozie (Prime Suspect: The Final Act) • Owen Teale (Tsunami: The Aftermath) • Alexander Siddig (The Nativity Story) • Robert Pugh (Kinky Boots) • James Cosmo (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)

Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Read the spoiler points.
Without much fanfare but an intriguing tagline, "Before King Arthur, there was Excalibur."—at least intriguing to those self-proclaimed fans of fantasy genre films anyway—The Last Legion featuring an enticing cast and a semi-fresh perspective, attempts to show us the origin of Ex Caliber as sort of a prequel to the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The time is just as the adolescent boy Romulus Augustus is crowned the new Cesar literally moments before the angry ruler of the Goth betrays the empire, figuring he'd rather rule it that serve it, marching his armies in and taking over Rome. With his parents dead, Romulus (Thomas Sangster) wished he'd been killed as well, but his previously banished teacher and mentor Ambrosinus (Ben Kingsley) returns in the nick of time to cleverly argue for the sparing of his head from the Goth king Odoacer's (Peter Mullan) blade.
"not destined to join the ranks of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Gladiator, nor Braveheart, The Last Legion entertains sufficiently to warrant a screening at early matinee prices "
Instead of death, young Romulus shall be imprisoned on the Isle of Capri along with Ambrosinus and watched over by Wulfila (Kevin McKidd) until he either becomes useful or dies so as to ensure the Roman people do not perceive him to fear the threat of the life of a child emperor. This is fortuitous for it gives the Emperor's personal captain of the guard, Aurelius (Colin Firth) and his troops an opportunity to attempt a rescue. With the assurances from Theodorus Andronikos (Alexander Siddiq) that the Eastern Emperor in Constantinople will give them all sanctuary, Aurelius mounts the operation. At his disposal are his best men and a surprise additional warrior provided by Andronikos. They set sail for Capri with their odds-against-them plan. Back on Capri, Romulus is enjoying his stature as an untouchable whereby he feels he can taunt Wulfia no end after hearing that the orders of Odoacer are that not a hair on his head may be touched. For some reason, Wulfia's loathing of the Cesar and all of Rome is complete, he barely resists the temptation not to snap Romulus's little neck. Opening he mouth too often in defense of the boy, Ambrosinus finds himself strung up precariously from a winch and hung over the edge of the prison fortress wall some 100 feet above the sea below. From this vantage point, however, he sees a clue, the branded scar he bears above his breast bone is that of the Pentangle, an inter-locking 5, pointed star, which serves to indicate the location of the hidden sword of forged in Britannia for Julius Cesar and that shall never be wielded again except by he who is meant to rule. The sword has been lost to antiquity and hidden in some secret location. Many men have searched for it, but none has deciphered the clues. Here now, however, seeing the mosaic pentangle on the floor of the terrace, he realizes that this is where the sword is hidden. He coaxes Romulus to seek out the sword with the clue of looking beneath the gaze of Cesar. Cleverly, Romulus finds the sword just as Aurelius and his team arrives for rescue. A battle ensues foreshadowing the battles ahead which eventually lead the band back to Britannia in hopes of locating the 9th and last legion of the Roman Empire—the only hope Romulus may ever have of leading his country again. (see the spoiler points for details)

While somewhat predictable, the twists in the story are fun. This is a relatively typical fantasy formula, though the Director and writer did prove to create a more inclusive army (see spoiler points again), and a tale was more interesting than one might suspect given the tendency to recycle too much in films of this genre. One thing that was a tad lacking was the excitement normally aroused by a great and victorious battle as well as the ingenious techniques invented to hold off a superior enemy. The film, perhaps, spent too much time on the travel sequences between spots that added little to the action of the story. As for the acting, Colin Firth was a bit too tentative at times in his portrayal of Aurelius to believe he was a great hero. Moreover, it was clear that his physical fitness was not up to par with either the others in his troops. He seemed to be in constant struggle to perform the physical feats required of Aurelius. Ben Kingsley was his typical wry self. There seems to be no role ever conceived that he won't find a way to play brilliantly. This character does not expect much from his talents, but he gives far more with mystical layers that eventually provide much of the story's enchanting surprise. While a bit far down on the cast list in the credits as children typically are, young Thomas Sangster as Romulus Augustus has one of the most difficult roles to play in the film. He is both the most powerful man in the world as far as his people know; and, yet, he's all too well informed that Rome has had 5 emperors in the past 5 years. The odds for him are not too good to reach his next birthday. He had the blood of a Cesar, but he lacks the stature and experience, much less the fighting skills to protect himself from harm. You Mr. Sangster portrays Romulus with a valiant vulnerability that he later transforms into a superior wisdom and charismatic understanding of true nobility. For such a young chap, with such great expectations necessary from him, he probably does a better job than most of the adults in the film. The other standout in the film is Aishwarya Rai as Mira on loan to the filmmakers from Bollywood, the former Miss World, is considered to be one of the best actresses in India. Her warmth and depth of charm and considerable beauty mask the inner fighter within (see the spoiler points for more on her role). She truly makes this film memorable in so many positive ways.

In the end, while director Doug Lefler has not made a film destined to join the ranks of The Lord of the Rings trilogy in the area of fantasy nor Gladiator nor Braveheart in the area of ancient war battles; and, while The Last Legion might have made a more brilliant Australian mini-series instead of this feature, it entertains sufficiently to warrant a screening at early matinee prices.

Send This Review To a Friend
Related Products from Amazon.com
Other Projects Featuring The Last Legion (2007)
Cast Members
Colin Firth • Ben Kingsley • Aishwarya Rai
Peter Mullan • Kevin McKidd • John Hannah
Iain Glen • Thomas Sangster • Rupert Friend
Nonso Anozie • James Cosmo • Alexander Siddig
Director
Doug Lefler
Writers
Jez Butterworth • Tom Butterworth
CD Soundtrack
DVD
VHS






Review-lite The Last Legion (2007) [max of 150 words]
While director Doug Lefler has not made a film destined to join the ranks of The Lord of the Rings trilogy in the area of fantasy nor Gladiator nor Braveheart in the area of ancient war battles; and, while The Last Legion might have made a more brilliant Australian mini-series instead of this feature, it entertains sufficiently to warrant a screening at early matinee prices.
Send This Review To a Friend
Reviewed by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)