The Last Legion

The Last Legion
by Doug Lefler

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Aishwarya Rai, Ben Kingsley, Colin Firth, Kevin McKidd, Peter Mullan
Director: Doug Lefler
Brand: WELLSPRING/GENIUS
Producer: Chris Curling
Producer: Dino De Laurentiis
Writer: Carlo Carlei
Writer: Jez Butterworth
Writer: Peter Rader
Writer: Tom Butterworth
Writer: Valerio Manfredi
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-12-18
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Weinstein Company

Movie Reviews of The Last Legion

Movie Review: The Last Legion (from The Ancient World Review)
Summary: 3 Stars

The Last Legion is loosely based on the King Arthur legends and the story of Romulus Augustus, the young boy who became the emperor of Rome only to be deposed by a Gothic invasion in 476. Romulus turned out to be the last Caesar and his reign is generally considered to mark the end of the Roman Empire in the West and the beginning of the so-called Middle Ages.

The real Romulus was just a kid. As emperor, he served as a proxy for his father Orestes, who made all the decisions. In The Last Legion, Romulus is 12-years-old and the Goths overthrow him the day after his coronation. The historical Romulus actually "ruled" for 10 months before he was deposed, but it doesn't really matter. The movie had to compress the time-frame for dramatic effect.

In the movie, the Goths imprison Romulus in a villa constructed by Tiberius on the island of Capris, along with his tutor (Ben Kingsley) who passes himself off as a sorcerer through trickery and a heavy dose of mysticism. The movie presents the villa as an imposing fortress-like structure on top of a crag in the middle of the sea. In reality, Octavian Caesar and Tiberius probably constructed at least a dozen villas on Capri, an Italian island off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples. Capri was a resort, not a prison island--at least during the early years. People could be kept under house arrest in villas, though, so the movie isn't completely implausible.

Following the instructions of his tutor, the big-screen Romulus discovers the sword of Julius Caesar which is supposed to make its owner the ruler of the world. The boy emperor and his tutor are then rescued from the clutches of the Goths by Romulus' soldier-guardian, Aurelius (Colin Forth) and a female warrior from India who is working for the Eastern Emperor in Constantinople. Romulus and his escort flee to Britain to seek the protection of the last surviving legion in the crumbling Roman Empire, the Ninth Legion, apparently a reference to Legio IX Hispana. Historically, the Ninth Legion was formed by Julius Caesar before 58 BC and fought in the Gallic Wars. The legion did serve in Britain at one time, but they were later moved to Germania and disappeared from the records around 120 AD. That's the conventional story, anyway. There was a legend popular in Britain and Scotland that the Ninth vanished during its stay in Britannia, so the movie is tapping into mythology here--or maybe the story is true. Who knows?

At any rate, Romulus and his protectors arrive at Hadrian's Wall, only to discover that the soldiers of the last legion--long forgotten by Rome--have turned to farming in a nearby village. Pursued by vengeful Goths and a local British warlord who wants the sword for himself, Romulus and his small band of Roman die-hards stage a last stand at Hadrian's Wall, only to be rescued in the nick of time by the Roman legionaries who have decided to put down their plows and rally behind their lawful emperor. In the aftermath, we learn that Romulus is the ancestor of King Arthur, his sorcerer/tutor is Merlin and the sword is the famous Excalibur.

This is a great story, but The Last Legion is one of those movies that dances drunkenly on the fine line between semi-watchable and completely forgettable. It's not that bad overall, but it should have been a lot better considering its "All Star" cast, which included Ben Kingsley, Colin Firth, Peter Mullan, Kevin McKidd and the East Indian babe Aishwarya Rai, who plays one of those Kill Bill Ninja-type female warriors with gravity-defying fighting skills.

Kevin McKidd, the Scottish actor who played Lucius Vorenus on HBO's Rome, is the best of the lot, in my opinion,but McKidd didn't have much to do in The Last Legion except snarl and gnash on the scenery as an evil Goth determined to kill the boy emperor. The rest of the cast did what they could with their parts, more or less, but hiring big names like Kingsley is no substitute for a good script. I'm guessing that actor salaries ate up a major part of the budget for The Lost Legion. They would have been better off hiring no-name actors, getting some better writers and sinking more cash into research, costumes and sets. Movies like this rise or fall on their realism, no matter how fantastic their plots.

The Lost Legion has its moments, but in general the movie didn't feel real. For the most part, it looked like a Hollywood version of the ancient world, particularly the scenes in Rome, but it noticeably improved once the action moved to Capris and Britain. The video-game sword fights in which Aishwarya Rai did back-flips with two swords, killing dozens of burly Goths without getting a scratch, didn't exactly make it more believable. The producers apparently spent so much money on actor salaries that they didn't have a lot left over for special effects, but the digital re-creation of Hadrian's Wall and some of the other CGI scenes were actually pretty decent.

In the final analysis, the historical setting saves the movie. I'm no expert on the Later Roman Empire, the Gothic invasions or the King Arthur legends, but the whole period is so exotic and interesting that it can rescue an otherwise lackluster flick.

Check it out.

Ancient World Review

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Summary of The Last Legion

A warrior and a wizard embark on an action-packed mission to save the crumbling Roman empire and its young heir. As they battle across medieval Europe, their epic journey reveals the origin of the legendary sword Excalibur.

Swordfights, battles, and betrayal fuel The Last Legion, which tells the story of the last emperor of Rome: a slight 12-year-old boy who is a descendent of Julius Caesar. Protected by commander Aurelius (Colin Firth) and guided to an extent by the wizard Ambrosinus (Ben Kingsley), Romulus (Thomas Sangster) is an unlikely leader. Too inexperienced to rule wisely, he also shows little of the fortitude and courage needed to be a great warrior. After Romulus finds Caesar's sword--the legendary excaliburnus--he begins a search for the fabled last legion that will help him save Rome. Directed by Doug Lefler and produced by Dino De Laurentiis, the film has a clunky feel, thanks to uneven dialogue and fight sequences that are tepid at best. Portraying a female warrior, Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai is a beauty but unconvincing in her athletic skills. Kingsley makes the most of his role, chewing up the scenery and doing the best he can with some laughable lines. But Firth is out of his element here. More thinking man than action hero, the charming Brit is sorely miscast in this movie, which would've benefited from having better CGI animation and, just as importantly, a more developed script. With its broad strokes and lack of character development, The Last Legion actually would've worked better as a half-hour Saturday morning cartoon than a feature-length epic. --Jae-Ha Kim

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