The Last Legion (2007)

As the Roman empire crumbles, young Romulus Augustus flees the city and embarks on a perilous voyage to Britain to track down a legion of supporters.

Director:

Doug Lefler

Writers:

Jez Butterworth (screenplay), Tom Butterworth (screenplay)

Stars:

Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colin Firth	...	Aurelius
Ben Kingsley	...	Ambrosinus / Merlin
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan	...	Mira (as Aishwarya Rai)
Peter Mullan	...	Odoacer
Kevin McKidd	...	Wulfila
John Hannah	...	Nestor
Iain Glen	...	Orestes
Thomas Brodie-Sangster	...	Romulus Augustus (as Thomas Sangster)
Rupert Friend	...	Demetrius
Nonso Anozie	...	Batiatus
Owen Teale	...	Vatrenus
Alexander Siddig	...	Theodorus Andronikos
Robert Pugh	...	Kustennin
James Cosmo	...	Hrothgar
Harry Van Gorkum	...	Vortgyn

Storyline

Circa 460 A.D. Mira was born in a warrior-family in Kerala, India, was well versed in martial arts and self-defense, so much so that she was recruited by the Spanish royalty and re-located to Constantinople. From there she was instructed to assist Roman Commander Aurelius to plan the escape of 12-year old Romulus Augustus Caesar from a prison in Capri after his parents had been killed by the leader of the Alliance in turmoil-stricken Rome that has seen the deaths of five emperors in five years. Mira, Aurelius, and a Priest, Ambrosinius, along with a handful of loyal soldiers were successful in the escape plan and deliver Romulus to Roman Senator Nestor. What the crew do not realize is that their task is not over yet, for Nestor is all set to betray Romulus, leaving them with no alternative but to flee to Britannia, where they will be forced to confront a seemingly invincible Vortygn, whose main aim is to obtain a powerful sword that was meant for defense and defeat, and also ensure ...

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Plot Keywords:

roman legion | 5th century | caligula character | merlin character | king hrothgar character | 

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Taglines:

The untold beginning of the King Arthur legend.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

(At around thirty-seven minutes) The statue of Gaio Giulio Cesare was not the primary statue used in Tunisia. Rather, it was a special effects statue with a large gaping hole in its back and which was intended to be rigged to blow up. When production moved from Tunisia to Slovakia the primary statue was lost.

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Goofs

Romulus Augustulus was born on 460 A.D.At the time of the movie, he should have been a new born baby.

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Quotes

Aurelius: Who are you?
Ambrosinus: One who knows humiliation to be a poor teacher, of both men and boys.
Aurelius: I smell a philosopher.

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Connections

References Love Actually (2003)

User Reviews

A Nutshell Review: The Last Legion

There are many adaptations and versions to the tale of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, with Merlin the sorcerer, and of the magical sword Excalibur, some versions which set it into stone, while others, handed out by a lady in the water. The Last Legion is essentially touting a story about the beginnings of Excalibur and how it took to the former. However, it took a long route to tell this story, going all the way back to 400-something AD, a time where Rome is in turmoil.

Actually Rome is in turmoil ever since Julius Caesar got killed by friends, Romans, countrymen. In a time where generals scheme to usurp the throne and politicians of the Senate are corrupt as hell, it's little wonder why one of the best and most loyal generals Aurelius (Colin Firth) gets recalled to protect the rear of the new boy-king-god-Caesar Romulus Augustus, played by Thomas Sangster (the kid in Nanny McPhee and Tristan and Isolde). Naturally the enemies spring a surprise attack, and our merry men have to flee Rome, and journey to Britain to regroup with the 9th Legion (henceforth also known as the Last Legion), bringing in tow a seer Ambrosinus (Ben Kingsley), and a lady warrior in Mira (Aishwarya Rai).

Like most medieval stories with elements of magic or involving the higher powers from Mount Olympus, The Last Legion does away with the sorcery portion, like what Troy and King Arthur had done, opting instead to focus more on reality, and what possibly could have been done without divine intervention, or fantastical assistance. Thus this makes Kingsley's role a little redundant, and relegates him into a fortune teller rather than an all powerful wizard, despite his garb looking a lot like Gandalf's.

While it could have gotten away with its material given 10 years back, unfortunately the stakes in the genre have been raised, and everyone's expecting a spectacle of huge armies battling in hand to hand combat, with its combatants having some form of fancy killing moves. The Last Legion pales in terms of providing that level of detail and spectacle, and chose instead to provide unsophisticated battle scenes, or swordplay that is a tad too uninspiring. Most of the fanciful moves were reserved for Aishwarya, but even that too began to become repetitive. Not even her booby trapped enhanced short sword offered anything we're never seen before.

With characters you don't really care about, what made it a little unbearable amongst the good guys, was the totally hokey, unbelievable romance between Rai and Firth's characters. It doesn't mean that having characters from the opposite sex means they find each other irresistible and want to get into each other's pants. There is absolutely zero chemistry and zero buildup. One minute they're allies, the next they're admiring each other's swordplay, and then, the bed beckons. And if the villains justify what kind of heroes we get, then it's a no brainer that they are bland and devoid of any interesting notion. World domination seems to be their only objective, and both the Romans and the British (using the term loosely here) villains are merely caricatures.

As I said, while The Last Legion might have worked if it's released 10 years ago, this movie can't justify it being made now. It's suitable at most for that DVD rental for a lazy afternoon, but nothing more, and only if you're in dire need of some, or any, form of entertainment.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Germany]

Country:

UK France Slovakia Tunisia Italy Bulgaria

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 August 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Last Legion

Filming Locations:

Cerveny Castle, Pezinok, Slovakia

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,746,312, 19 August 2007

Gross USA:

$5,933,494

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$25,303,038

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dino De Laurentiis Company, Quinta Communications, Ingenious Film Partners

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1