Six new character banners have been made available for apocalyptic actioner
Legion, starring Paul Bettany as a gun-toting Archangel Michael determined to serve humanity from the wrath of a terminally-peeved God. However, the functional moodiness evident in the half-dozen character cards posted by
JoBlo suggest that the movie may have its work cut out for it if it wants to distinguish itself from the minor glut of upcoming, similarly-styled movies.
Marking the directorial debut of visual effects man Scott Stewart,
Legion sees the Almighty passing damning judgement on us earthly ne’er-do-wells, and consequently unleashing a plague of marauding angels to scrub the planet clean of all humanity. Bettany’s Michael shows up at an isolated roadside diner in order to offer superhuman protection to a small band of survivors, including the below-depicted Dennis Quaid, Adrianne Palicki, Lucas Black and Tyrese Gibson.
The trailer hints at a streak of slightly unhinged melodrama (demonic grandma, stretchy-armed Blue Man, hordes of CGI angels blackening the sky), pitched uncertainly between dark humour and plain old silliness. Co-starring is Kevin Durand as Michael’s nemesis Gabriel, with the script co-penned by director Stewart seeing the two angels facing off against each other in a pitched rivalry that seems to be more
Oldboy than Old Testament.
The likes of
Daybreakers,
The Book of Eli, and
Jonah Hex all indicate that the mid-budget, doomsday action flick is back in vogue (as much of it ever was), and
Legion appears to have ground to make up if it is to open with a bang when it is released on 22 January. Star Bettany clearly gelled with helmer Stewart though, as the pair are reteaming for
Priest – a graphic novel adaptation in which PB’s titular clergyman hunts down the vampires who kidnapped his niece and, one suspects, originality takes a lengthy vacation.
Source:
JoBlo
January 29, 2008, 03:09:42 PM
