I love apocalyptic thrillers, I love movies that take a look at Biblical characters, and I love a lot of things about movies that challenge one's spirituality. So I was actually looking forward to what I had seen in the previews and early trailers of the new movie Legion. There was something unsettling about the concept, though. Legion appeared to be a movie displaying a civil war in heaven among the angels of God. It appeared to be a movie displaying a civil war due to God's desire to destroy all of humanity. In some ways that is what the movie is, but instead of a civil war it is one angel's rebellion against God, the rebellion of Archangel Michael who arrives to Earth shortly before God is to destroy it. Along the way, though, out in the desert is a little bar named Paradise Falls where a group of interesting characters are about to face their own impending doom.

Paradise Falls has a strange group of employees and restaurant patrons from various backgrounds and walks of life. From owner Bob Hanson, played by Dennis Quaid, to his son Jeep (played by Lucas Black) who has a passion for 8-month pregnant waitress Charlie (played by Adrianne Palicki) and others such as Percy Walker (played by Charles Dutton). We see a variety of characters that seem to have some promise. Some of the characters are somewhat likeable, yet we know so little of any of them that it is hard for the viewer to really care. Their experiences are varied, but so little character development takes place that what we do see may cause some to lose any interest in the characters of develop any likability for them.

Legion opens with the arrival of Archangel Michael as he leaves Heaven, rebelling against God, to come to Earth to protect humanity for some reason, which we are never given real clarity on. In his early arrival, we see the possession of two police officers, apparently by other angels who have come to act on God's plan to destroy the earth. Shortly thereafter the angel Gabriel arrives and attempts to kill Michael, but Michael escapes to travel to Paradise Falls where for some reason there is the need to save the child which is to be born to Charlie. For the rest of the movie Michael is working with the humans at Paradise Falls in an attempt to save Charlie and her soon-to-be-born baby from Gabriel and the multitudes of angels that travel with him to carry on God's work. Some angels maintain their angelic form, while others possess people, those that possess people take on horrific forms to destroy them.

Legion develops with sloppy editing and storytelling, and as confusing a plot and concept as I have seen in a major film in some time. It is all as sloppy and insulting to the audience as any movie I think I have ever seen. There are so many unanswered questions that I frankly can't put together much of a story synopsis that makes any sense at all. How is it that one angel can supposedly defend and protect himself against the whole host of angels including the Angel Gabriel and multitudes of other angels that are attempting to fulfill the desire of God? Why do some angels possess people and some don't? Then, for me, the primary question: If God exists as the film presumes he does, why does he need the angels to carry out his desire to destroy the earth? If one angel rebels against God, isn't God capable and able to take care of his own business? While there may be some imagery that represents Satan, remember, in the story of Lucifer, there were multitudes of angels; the Bible says as many as 1/3 of the angels of Heaven went with him. Poor ol' Michael goes at it all alone.

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