Legion Blu-ray Review

Renegade archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) has descended from heaven with a task to protect humanity’s last chance for survival. Humanity is on its last stand from the wrath of God. Michael is armed to the teeth and following his own orders. He is about to lead a group of humans that make up the last stand against God’s waves of angels who take over humans to do his will. Now it will be up to the group to see if they are up to the challenge when the angels begin to test their will and weaknesses. The battle has began and there is no turning back.

Legion sounded decent in paper (at least in my book) when it was first released in theaters. I had hoped that maybe it would be worth the wait. Boy was I wrong. I mean it had everything guns, explosions, zombie (somewhat) acting humans, action, and a renegade looking to help save humanity. I figured “well this might turn into an epic flick once is over.” Yeah, that did not happen at all. The film failed to even keep my attention of the TV for the entire duration of the film. I was left wondering what had happened by the end of the movie. I managed to have a second look at it and now everything just seemed right down goofy when things looked promising at the beginning of the film. My disappointment comes from various things that make the movie such a failure from the script to the action that just didn’t manage to pull it off.

Legion featured a decent cast with Dennis Quaid leading and Tyrese as a supporting actor, but regardless it just fell short. There were a few too many cheesy lines and too many clichés that were just too annoying. There was never any character development and everything appeared rushed from the get go. From the thematic aspect I found the “God as the bad guy” aspect to be a bit ludicrous. It just sounds completely different from what some were thought from childhood and what the old book says. Anyway, I also found the way that “He” chose to go after the baby (our only hope of survival) laughable, what happened to the plagues? Or, what happened to the fire and brimstone that consumed Sodom and Gomorrah? Wouldn’t that had been much easier than having thousands of “angels” fly down to earth? I guess I am looking at it too literally, but it truly was a letdown. There were certain instances that the film managed to give me chills and keep my attention specifically the ice cream truck scene and the young boy scenes; they were right down bone chilling. The score managed to keep some the dark atmosphere and engulf the viewer during some of the chilling scenes.

On the bright side, Sony managed to provide an impressive video and audio presentation that videophiles and audiophiles alike will truly enjoy. An array of decent supplement should keep you entertained for a while after you have seen this movie.

Legion arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p MPEG4-AVC encode framed at 2.40:1. This transfer is nearly flawless and never ceases to impress. The lever of details is very impressive during day time shots with all surrounding objects. The film is based predominantly during the night and well the night shots feature and equally impressive level of details. Facial shots are impeccable featuring the intricate skin textures of the actors. Black levels are well reproduced and never taking over the picture. Colors are also well reproduced with a bit of tan due to the setting in the middle of the desert. Skin tones are life like. There is some color banding in certain scenes that prevents this film from labeling it flawless. Sony has done an outstanding job with this transfer.

Legion arrives on Blu-ray with a 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio lossless track. For an impressive video transfer we couldn’t have been left out without an equally satisfying audio. This track is impressive and right from the beginning the dialogue is clean, clear and crisp being reproduced without a single problem. The audio track excels with the use of small sound effects that are used throughout. The gunfire sounds incredible. There are a few very chilling pieces throughout this film and the track manages to get it done right, for example, the ice cream truck coming down the empty road with the most known tune of all will make you shiver. The audio manages to equal the video transfer. Everything on Legion sounds terrific. Sony has done another terrific job.

Legion features a nice set of features for those looking for more after the credits begin to roll. Maybe there is something in the extras that will keep my attention where the featured film failed to do so. Anyway, check below for a list of supplements.

Bringing Angels To Earth: Picture-in-Picture – This is a commentary/behind-the-scenes feature with Director Scott Stewart and other cast members. This feature goes over different aspects of the film like the themes, characters, special effects, and much more. Is an entertaining piece if you want to find out more about the film you just saw. This is a Blu-ray exclusive feature!

Humanity’s Last Line of Defense: The Cast and Characters – This feature takes another closer look at the cast of the film.

From Pixels to Picture: A Look at the Visual Effects – This feature takes an in-depth look at the special effects used in the film.

Creating the Apocalypse: Behind the Physical Effects – The feature looks closely at certain effects used during the film. For example the granny, ice cream man, and the young boy.

Movie Trailers – Featuring 2012, The Da Vinci Code,The Road, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, and Wild Things: Foursome

BD-Live Functionality – Access online content like more movie trailers and more.

MovieIQ – Connects you to real-time information on the cast, music, trivia and more while watching the movie.

I was hoping Legion was entertaining and offered more than what was seen in its trailers. However, that wasn’t the case. Several things simply just fell short and the film never really picked up. This Blu-ray release features an impressive video and audio presentation nothing short of demo material. Legion also includes an interesting Picture-in Picture commentary among other supplements that will take you on a closer look at how the film came to be. As for my final words, I would seriously recommend you to think twice before renting this film.

httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8lGCjd9W8U

The screen captures are only a small representation of what the Blu-ray looks like and are not representative of Blu-ray’s true quality.