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The Last Legion puts a Roman twist on the Arthurian legend. Heard that before? The idea that the source of the famous mythical tale existed in the dying days of the Roman empire has already been explored in 2004's lacklustre King Arthur, a film whose critical and commercial failure makes the existence of The Last Legion somewhat puzzling. Even harder to fathom is that it's from the Weinstein Company, which is in dire need of a hit - the brothers Weinstein, who seemed to make an Oscar front runner every year for Miramax, have lost their magic touch. The Last Legion surely never seemed like the film that would get them out of the hole, and to no-one's surprise, it opened with a whimper in the US (with hardly any publicity), earning less than $6 million total there.
A major problem with historical epics, and one of the primary reasons why they are quite rare, is that they have to cost a lot to be any good. A significant part of their appeal lies in the recreation of huge vistas and such extravagant spectacle costs money. The Last Legion already starts off on the wrong foot, then, because it is obviously an epic made on a limited budget. While there are a few impressive wide shots, the effects are generally iffy and the sense of scale is severely lacking. In particular, the depiction of the sacking of Rome by the Goths is almost laughable in that it looks more like a small scuffle. It's not helped by the anachronistic costumes and the stereotypically caveman-like portrayal of the invaders.
Many of the actors chosen for the parts seem to have been cast because they were available rather than because they were right for the roles. Colin Firth, as the main action man, lacks the commanding presence that such a character needs, rendering his inevitable rousing speech pretty flat. Aishwarya Rai's character is a complete cliché, that of the action woman, but making things worse is Rai's performance. The Bollywood star and former Miss World's acting range, by this evidence, seems to be limited to twitching her eyebrows, and her character's supposedly formidable fighting style just looks like a series of poses. Admittedly, this is not the best film by which to judge talent; Oscar winner Ben Kingsley - who has shown himself to be attracted to a project by little more than a big fat paycheque before - is equally flat as a blatant Gandalf knock-off. None of the actors are aided by the script, which is overflowing with dialogue that ranges from trite to embarrassing. At least the story is relatively engaging, but it is hampered by multiple contrivances and coincidences as well as a poor sense of geographical distance.
There's clearly a lot to criticise about The Last Legion, but it does have one thing going for it: it's no worse than King Arthur (although that's hardly a glowing recommendation). It's intermittently enjoyable and the travelogue nature of the plot adds visual variety. There's just not much more than that.
The summary
The Last Legion is a low-rent epic that just doesn't cut the mustard. A shoddy script, wooden acting and the constant wheeling out of clichés do not a good film make, although it's not entirely unlikeable.
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