The Last Legion

Doug Lefler

BY Scott A. GrayPublished Dec 26, 2007

This could be a cautionary tale about signing on to make a movie with an unproven film director. Doug Lefler has a solid cast to work with in Colin Firth, Ben Kingsly and beautiful Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai, and the story has potential, tracing the last descendent of Julius Caesar, Romulus Augustus, during the fall of the Roman empire and his link to Excalibur and the birth of the "sword in the stone” legend. Young Romulus is forced to flee to Britain after his kingdom is overthrown and parents butchered in search of a last legion of supporters to uphold the court of Caesar. Joining the young king is his mysterious teacher (Ben Kingsly), who sometimes goes by the name of Merlin, an army officer sworn to protect him (Colin Firth) and a warrior named Mira, who just kind of shows up and kicks a lot of ass. Unfortunately for the cast, Lefler only has experience directing television, and damn does it show. Visually the film looks like a made for TV movie from ten years ago, complete with sloppy editing to avoid all consequences of violence in order to maintain that PG rating. This effectively neuters any thrills or tension in the plentiful action sequences, leaving the tenuous plot and wooden acting to carry the film. The whole project is marred by a lack of direction and chemistry between the leads. Aishwarya Rai and Firth have zero spark, making their romance utterly laughable, and Kingsly does his best to stay afloat in the sea of amateurism Lefler’s constructed. A wasted cast and opportunity to tell a potentially fascinating tale, The Last Legion is suitable for kids too young to handle the gore of more mature medieval fantasy fare. But at least it’s better than the embarrassing Eragon or Dungeons & Dragons. The standard special features include deleted scenes, fight scene choreography, storyboard to film comparisons, a "making of” and director’s commentary.
(Alliance Atlantis)

Latest Coverage