LEGION; An Explosive Kaleidoscope of Musical Numbers, Semi-surreal Dream sequences, and Ethereal Planes of Existence.
Written by: Lee Fenton
This article was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the hard work and dedication of the writers and actors, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist. In fact, no films or television would.
We stand in solidarity.
As far as comic book properties go, Legion is not your regular kind. Not at all.
Now I am aware that superhero fatigue is at an all-time high, so writing this review is like trying to sell snow cones in a blizzard. Or an air conditioning unit to Ice-Man.
See what I did there?
The reason I am writing this particular review:
Nobody can accuse me of trying to ride the comic book trend. And it still seems far from fully drained, judging by the amount of creators milking the algorithm harder than Mark Hamill - y’know, when he's really parched for some blue milk? Legion is old news, even in its hay-day it wasn't the marketing juggernaut that the Marvel/Netflix series were.
Legion was relegated to that rather new and unknown home; the FX network. Although the channel had a few moderate hits like Archer and It's Always Sunny - these shows were still in their early seasons, and neither gained a large following - until years later. Although they had one breakout series; Fargo. Based loosely on the film of the same name, this series expanded the original premise and employed the mega star Billy Bob Thornton to play the main villain for the first season. It was created by Noah Hawley and he received much praise for the show, and his sway went up with FX allowing him to attempt such an experimental show. If it wasn’t for his prior success with Fargo - it is unlikely FX would have allowed him to pilot such a risky project.
Thankfully it paid off. Legion received plenty of applause from critics and was lauded by most as a magnificent and psychedelic take on an obscure and uniquely omniscient character. And that is exactly why I want to talk to about it. The filming in Legion required a huge array of inventive visual-language and sound engineering, from impromptu musical numbers, to animated sequences, inventive representations of ethereal planes of existence, and much more.
The show is utterly hypnotic. If you have not taken time to view this series, let me describe it to you. Produced and created by Noah Hawley, the creator of the celebrated television series Fargo, Legion is centered around the exploits of one Dave Haller. The son of fictional character Charles Xavier of the X-men.
Have I scared you off yet?
No? Good.
David is a character that allows us as viewers to experience the story from his warped and seemingly schizophrenic point of view. That's right, Charles Xavier's son has schizophrenia. Or he's possessed. By some entity of unimaginable power. This entity is known as the Shadow-King, Amaal Farouk by another name – and the story really centers around the power struggle between these two cosmic beings. Both have the power of telekinesis and telepathy, omega level. Which if all that means nothing to you, since you don't waste your time with such nonsense; both beings are virtually omniscient and omnipotent. I will say this, it makes for one interesting story.
But all this matters not, what really matters is – ahh – the execution. Yes. This is an out-there concept that has huge potential to challenge a filmmaker, so much so that they cannot correctly translate it to the medium of screen. Afterall the television show is based on a graphic novel and that medium allows for all types of visual depiction that films do not. If the mise-en-scene is not spot on in the show, the ineffable nature of the subject matter will be lost in the transition to film. How do you portray beings that have limitless amounts of power and minds that comprehend things that gods are meant to ponder. Not easily. But Noah Hawley did it.
That man defied logic and made a show that both handles that source material expertly, and tells a coherent story at the same time.
Watching Legion is like putting yourself in the opposite of a deprivation tank.
It is an overloading of stimuli that is both pleasant, and off-putting at the same time. It draws you in and then moments later make’s you want to recoil in horror and run away. It is alluring, while being repugnant. It's a surrealist nightmare trapped in an expressionistic dream - being dreamt up by a flying turtle. Maybe the world's on that turtle's back, or maybe that turtle isn't a turtle at all. Maybe it's really just a show; that managed to do something completely fresh, ubiquitous and off-the-wall alternative.
And Noah Hawley made it pure art to watch.
Legion is ebullient in its strangeness, never shying away from the drastically unreal - while skewering mundanity at every turn. Aubrey Plaza will blow you away, Amber Midthunder kicks insane amounts of ass, and Dan Stevens as the titular David Haller/Legion turns in a performance that breaks your heart and potentially your mind, as well. His acting in this, is hands down SOME OF THE BEST I HAVE SEEN on television. Bryan Cranston was jealous when he saw this show, trust me.
If one new(ish) Marvel property is forgiven for the sins of all the others, it should be this one.
And maybe Wanda-Vision...
I'm done.
Rating 10/10
Well-done, crispy psychic slug. Don't order if you're under the influence of time travel.
Served with raw cassette tape rolls.
