brescd01

A major disappointment. I found it to be almost a duplicate of two other horror sequels in great franchises, the latest Omen and the latest Exorcist.

All three make unsubtle references to earlier films, way more prominent than "winks". The bulk of all three films is a straightforward repeat of previous used plot lines, much more than story-line continuity requires. Romulus even recycles a villain from an earlier episode in the franchise.

I would compare this sequel to Prometheus (in the Alien franchise), or to Exorcist 3. Both these superior sequels maintain plot continuity while breaking new ground in fascinating and entertaining ways. No Omen sequel has accomplished that yet. This sequel in the Alien franchise does nothing, no memorable new devices, no characters I want to see again, no unique jump scares. Its script writing with a Xerox machine.

First of all I think Exorcist 3 is almost a great film, it isn't as good as the first Exorcist it is the sequel of, but it has some beautifully crafted scenes, wonderful performances, script and story, and belongs in the horror movie "pantheon".

Watching Legion is a waste of time for fans of Exorcist 3. I had great expectations but it doesn't deliver on its promise of a unique take on the film. It adds one thing and takes away one thing. It adds numerous video tapes of portions of the film that were edited and lost. Many of these exist in the original movie in perfect quality, and the significance of the poor quality alternative version, wasn't clear to me. It subtracts the scene with Nicole Williamson, which is an awkward presence in the original film, but removing it doesn't change anything or make the movie better.

Some reviews of this movie claimed Legion is "closer to the book" upon which the film is based. That was my hope. It wasn't in any way closer. I am not saying the book is so superior, it is slow-moving, metaphysical, existential, and boring at times, but it is thoughtful, with the addition of the Exorcist theme, and a movie version of it would be very interesting. The main character in the book doesn't even get cast in the movie. Legion is the original movie plus some edited bits in poor quality, minus one scene that bore no relationship to the book and was clearly an afterthought when the film was completed. That's it. Nothing else. It isn't worth the effort. If you want the movie closer to the book, just listen to the book on Audible and use your imagination.

I am sorry but I was utterly disappointed by this movie on so many levels. First, to address typical concerns when someone writes a one-star review, even my own, I am not slamming it because it isn't intellectual or "auteur" enough. I am not slamming it because of its genre or "sub-genre". I am not slamming it because it wasn't scary enough, though that is certainly true. Sometimes movies are more "slow burn" thrillers rather than "jump scare" thrillers. I can handle that. And I am not slamming the movie because its actors and actresses did a bad job, they did fine, though they were constrained by a lousy script and horrible post-production editing (I think), which explains to me why the movie was so confusing (I think).

So, why did I dislike this movie so much? On its own terms, it was a failure. I am no movie connoisseur so allow me to invent my own genre here, but this was a police procedural + supernatural. Or maybe "supernatural + serial killer FBI". Something like that.

I would argue Eric Bana's Deliver Us From Evil is along the same lines more or less. I am not trying to hold that movie out to be some ideal, it wasn't. But it was very scary and made sense and I could follow it, maybe because Eric Bana's character stood for "the skeptical audience" and there was a character, an alienated priest, who laid out the evidence that there were supernatural goings on. This film did not have that device and it needed it badly. There were huge unexplained jumps that were very hard to follow, and I am not talking about "plot twists", just regular plot-advancing business.

I was confused almost from the first scene. The director wasted Maika Monroe, an attractive and physically well-cast star, and her lines basically forced her to be almost catatonic throughout the film, ironically because catatonia is a plot element.

For me, movies HAVE to be entertaining and part of that is my understanding them. They don't have to satisfy every urge. They don't have to make me feel smart. This movie failed to be understandable due to an ineffective delineation of what was supernatural and what wasn't, and the basic plot exposition, and the characters couldn't draw me into their experience so that I could empathize with them.