Legion 2010

by **The Catalyst** Thu Feb 17 2011, 10:08

Legion is a 2010 American apocalyptic supernatural thriller film, directed by Scott Stewart, written by Peter Schink and re-written by Stewart. The cast includes Paul Bettany, Lucas Black, Tyrese Gibson, Adrianne Palicki, Kate Walsh and Dennis Quaid. Produced at the cost of $26 million, the film grossed $40 million in North American theaters.

Plot

The Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) falls to Earth in Los Angeles, cuts off his wings, and raids a Korean store for a cache of automatic firearms and weapons. Confronted by two LAPD officers, one becomes possessed and kills the other. Michael kills the possessed cop and steals his car.

At a roadside diner and garage near the edge of the Mojave Desert are the diner's owner, Bob Hanson (Dennis Quaid), his son Jeep (Lucas Black), the short-order cook Percy (Charles S. Dutton) and a pregnant waitress, Charlie (Adrianne Palicki). Also present is a single father on his way to L.A., Kyle (Tyrese Gibson); an urban married couple, Howard and Sandra Anderson (Jon Tenney and Kate Walsh); and their rebellious teenage daughter, Audrey (Willa Holland).

An old woman named Gladys Foster (Jeanette Miller) arrives and seems pleasant at first, but then begins taunting the diner's patrons. When Howard tries to reason with her, she rips part of his throat open, screeches that they are all going to die and climbs up the ceiling like an insect, revealing she is possessed. Kyle shoots and kills her with his pistol when Jeep freezes with a shotgun. They try to hurry an injured Howard away in Kyle's SUV, but are forced to go back after passing through a swarm of horse flies.

Michael arrives and arms the patrons as the entire sky plunges into blackness. Michael leads the patrons to fight off a large number of possessed people that arrive. They drag off Howard and cease their attack. He explains that God has lost faith in mankind and has sent down his angels to destroy the human race. He also reveals that Charlie's baby is deemed to be the savior of mankind, and that it must stay alive if humanity is to have any hope of surviving. Michael also reveals that his original mission was to kill Charlie's baby, but he disagreed with God's orders, as he still has faith in the goodness of humanity. Meanwhile, the patrons manage to catch a radio transmission revealing that there are other pockets of survivors holding out against the possessed, with one such refuge nearby. However, Michael advises not to go, since they would be too vulnerable on the move.

The next morning, Sandra discovers Howard crucified behind the restaurant and covered with boils. She tries to rescue him, but he violently explodes. Percy shields Sandra from the blast and is killed, while Sandra is driven insane. That night, a second wave of possessed attack, luring Kyle out by pretending to have a father and his son show up and having the father run over, motivating Kyle to bravely run out and save the child, who turns out to be possessed and kills Kyle and tries to kill Audrey, but Michael intervenes and guns down many possessed. The attack pushes a panicked Charlie into labor after the possessed child attempts to kill her. She delivers the baby as trumpets sound, signaling the approach of the Archangel Gabriel (Kevin Durand), who is leading the attack on humanity. In a panic, Sandra breaks her restraints and tries to give the baby to the possessed, so Michael kills her.

Moments later, Gabriel is sent by God. When Gabriel reaches the diner, he seriously injures Bob, and Michael gives Jeep the keys to the police cruiser he arrived in, urging them to escape. The hordes of possessed humans are unable to approach Charlie's baby, so Jeep, Audrey, Charlie, and her baby make their way to the cruiser. Gabriel and Michael fight, ending with Gabriel stabbing Michael through the chest with his mace. Michael dies and his body disappears. Bob lights a flame to the diner's gas main, blowing up the diner and destroying himself and the remaining hordes of possessed.

Jeep's body gets covered in the same mysterious drawings seen on Michael's body. Gabriel then shows up, having survived, and swoops down on the fleeing car. As he tries to reach Charlie, Audrey jumps on him and sacrifices herself after she yells at Jeep to slam on the brakes, sending Gabriel through the front windshield as the car crashes. Charlie and Jeep survive with the baby, but Charlie indicates that Audrey did not survive the crash. Gabriel finally corners Jeep and Charlie in the nearby mountains. He is about to kill them when Michael appears from Heaven, an angel once more, and stops Gabriel. Michael tells Gabriel that he (Michael) did what God needed, not what God wanted, thus giving humanity another chance. With his angelic powers back, Michael easily defeats Gabriel, but spares his life after which Gabriel leaves, defeated. Michael explains to Jeep that he is the child's true protector, then flies off. Charlie and Jeep make it to the top of the mountain and see a small town in the valley below.

Sometime later, Charlie, Jeep, and the baby are seen driving off into the distance with a car full of weapons.