The Last Legion (2007)

Director:

Doug Lefler

Writers (WGA):

Jez Butterworth (screenplay) &
Tom Butterworth (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 August 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Fantasy | War

Tagline:

Before King Arthur, there was Excalibur.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Capri | Sword | Roman Empire | Emperor

Awards:

2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Feb. 16

2:00 PM

MAX

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Colin Firth	...	Aurelius
Ben Kingsley	...	Ambrosinus / Merlin
Aishwarya Rai	...	Mira
Peter Mullan	...	Odoacer
Kevin McKidd	...	Wulfila
John Hannah	...	Nestor
Iain Glen	...	Orestes
Thomas Sangster	...	Romulus Augustus
Rupert Friend	...	Demetrius
Nonso Anozie	...	Batiatus
Owen Teale	...	Vatrenus
Alexander Siddig	...	Theodorus Andronikos
Robert Pugh	...	Kustennin
James Cosmo	...	Hrothgar
Harry Van Gorkum	...	Vortgyn

Also Known As:

L'ultima legione (Italy)
La dernière légion (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense action violence.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

UK | Italy | France | Tunisia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 | Netherlands:12 | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | UK:12A | France:Unrated | Ireland:12A | Malaysia:U | Finland:K-13 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Cerveny Castle, Pezinok, Slovakia

Company:

Dino De Laurentiis Company

Trivia:

Shots were removed from the U.S. version of the film so it would receive a family (PG-13) rating. (At 24:14, a shot of the crow flying down, picking up Wulfila's finger, and flying out of the room, as well as a shot at 42:06 of Wulfila's face hitting an axe blade, among other shots.)

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: As Romulus passes Caesar's guard in the coronation procession (at 00:09:56), Demetrius mouths the words "We're dead." (In the DVD commentary it is explained that "we took it out just because it was too soft to be heard over the noise of the procession and the music.")

Quotes:

Odoacer: [draws his sword] What do you say, boy? Should I be afraid of you?
Romulus Augustus: Why is Caesar treated so?
Odoacer: "Why is Caesar treated so?"
[Odoacer seizes Romulus by the hair and holds up the sword so that his face is reflected in it]
Odoacer: Perhaps Wulfila's right. Perhaps I should end this here, right now. Can you see yourself? Can you see your face? What do you see? You see a boy... or do you see a Caesar?
Romulus Augustus: I see...
Odoacer: Tell me.
Romulus Augustus: I see a Caesar. I *am* Caesar.
[pause]
Odoacer: Wrong answer.

Movie Connections:

References Love Actually (2003)

If you only have 2 hours to live SEE THIS MOVIE!!!

Because it'll feel like at least ten hours. Wow, I read the reviews before seeing this movie/ thing. People hated it. People liked it. I decided those who hated it were bitter, angry people who should lighten up and enjoy life. To those people, I apologize for thinking that. You were right. This movie seems to crawl from place to place without vision or energy. It's an epic stitched together with dull talks from actors who will take their paycheck and hope they can bounce back after this.

It does feel small budget. It also feels like the editor was told to put this together so families could watch it and then just decided not to try anymore. So not only does it drag, but the fight scenes are more like pushing and shoving scenes. But there was a technique employed that was clever. In it, we see someone throw something (an axe for example), we cut to another actor's reaction ("That's bad. I'm awake, right?"), then see the weapon lodged in a person's body. I think they did this three times, a great example of how well this was conceived.

If you don't understand what makes some movies bad and others good, check this out. It really will help you appreciate the good stuff.