The Last Legion by Jez Butterworth

The Last Legion by Jez Butterworth

There is so much potential in a story with Romans, barbarians, epic battles, legendary heroes, outstanding courage, phenomenal achievements, splendid loyalty and a tremendous cast to present all this.

And yet, with Ben Kingsley and Colin Firth leading the troops, this motion picture still fails to deliver much more than unexceptional entertainment.

Indeed, the Metascore is a terrible 37, one of the lowest one can find for a non independent motion picture.

One reason for this misfire might be that it tried to include too much.

Why would have sorcery, coupled with many fights, a difficult escape, vicious Goths, betraying allies.

In one of the early scenes, Sir Ben Kingsley, in a role so distant from the classic, quintessential, universally acclaimed Gandhi, for which he has won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe and other important prizes, shows that he has magical powers.

When a stone is thrown, Ben Kingsley aka Ambrosinus aka Merlin, catches it miraculously and not just that, but he turns it into...air and feathers.

This onlooker was lost here...

Is this a serious feature about the Roman Empire, a tragic tale of escape, valor, based on real history, with facts that support the plot and make the artistic license reasonable?

Or is is a children's story?

Alas, it could be perceived as neither...the public was not thrilled and the critics were not impressed.

It is better to watch Sir Ben Kingsley in the aforementioned chef d'oeuvre and other great motion pictures he was so brilliant in Sexy Beast is another masterpiece- and Colin Firth in The King's Speech, for which he has won the Oscar and other equally rewarding movies.