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. 

Prey (Predator Franchise) Review & In-depth Discussion

Written by: Lee Fenton

Prey is a vibrant and invigorating re-entry into the franchise, determined to deliver the heart-pounding excitement that is required of a Predator film. Not only does it succeed in this but it also manages to be a fairly accurate and in-depth look at the Comanche way of life circa 1719.

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg ( nominated for a Directors Guild of America award for Outstanding Directing -First- Feature Film for 10 Cloverfield Lane), Prey was released in 2022 on streaming services (Hulu, Disney+) to positive reviews and an uproarious reaction by audiences worldwide, praised as the greatest entry since the first film and a remarkable accomplishment for casting a huge array of Indigenous actors.

Amber Midthunder plays the lead role in Prey opposite the titular Predator. For a relatively unknown actress, it's quite the undertaking, thankfully Midthunder steals the show - her performance is not just comparable to Schwarzenegger - it has the potential to go down as the greater of the two.

Midthunder gained recent notoriety with her supporting role in FX's television series Legion, with her amazing fight scenes and choreography. From wall kicks, to crescent kicks, to toting a large melee weapon every other episode, her character 'Kerry” is a ferocious force to be reckoned with whenever on screen. Her ability in acting is tested in Prey as well, and she provides emotional depth that draws the viewer into the hardships of a Comanche tribe that's faced with the reality of Colonial peoples encroaching on their villages, and forever changing their way of life.

For everything that is amazing about this film, it pains me to have to admit that there is one major flaw. The CGI is kind of bad.

Specifically the bear that's in it. Not the titular Predator, so don't worry. There I said it, the Predator looks pretty darn awesome, given that this film was not a mega-budget picture. The bear on the other hand... looks quite bad.

But equally as important; any laser blasts, explosions, gore, etc are VERY believable and quite visually stunning. So, in the end it's really only ONE 'asset' that the CGI artists mucked up. That being said it is 'pretty damn butt-ugly' people aren't lying, but thankfully the bear is a rather minor part of the movie. One that does not affect the overall plot. So you don't have to look at the dreadful thing for much of the film's run-time. Which is a blessing! Plus there's a scene with a CGI mountain lion that looks fine. Although the fight with the cougar was barely lit - cause the scene took place during the nighttime, so... Let's carry on, shall we?

The premise that's given in the original Predator (1987) film leads you to believe that you're about to watch Arnold Schwarzenegger mow down some unsuspecting bad guys in the jungle and then kick some extraterrestrial ass. The ET in question not being of the Spielberg variety (Spielberg's magnum opus was still fresh in the public consciousness having come out five years prior) but more akin to the xeno-morphs showcased in Alien by Ridley Scott released in 1979, a decade prior.

The film however goes a very different route and turns the trope of the invincible action-hero on its head when it places the leading muscle man in the role of a horror starlet for the second half of the film. It subverts your expectations and makes the inspired choice to fluidly travel from one genre to the next about midway through; the schlocky action movie turns into a nail-biting thriller, complete with a dread inducing score done by American composer Alan Silvestri.

Although it under-performed upon its release – after some time - and a lot of VHS sales, it became the cult classic we know today, and hailed as one of the greatest action movies of all time, right up there with the likes of Diehard, Terminator, and The Matrix.

There is an important dichotomy to understand between the two films (Prey & Predator) and it is this – that I have been leading up to; franchise-wise we have come full circle now; a Predator movie that has a heroine in the lead role. The new film actually embodies the rather transgressive idea that was at the core of the original.

Let's shake things up a bit and have a hugely intimidating man run for his life, scared and terrified – trying and failing to escape this alien hunter. Maybe he will win in the end, but we'll up the stakes a bunch in the process – ignoring the idea that an action hero is invincible.

But where do you go, with the plot - three decades later, when the franchise is failing from tired reboot, after tired reboot, after tired reboot? You finally let the heroine, you know the one that would stereo-typically have a rather slim chance of survival in a slasher film - use all of her cunning, agility, and prowess - to disembowel that ugly alien's face, once and for all.

That's where you go.

PS: And Amber Midthunder took us there... don't forget that.

Swinging axes on a length of rope.

Like a champ.

_______________

Rating: 9/10

Authentic Well Done BBQ’d Predator, served with a side of organic veg and fry bread.

Extra charge to substitute Pred. meat for fresh venison, or smoked salmon.

After-word by Author: Also make sure to check out the version of the film that has been re-dubbed in Comanche, it's a shame they didn't choose to shoot two different versions – but that would be about double the work. Basically, shooting two films.

We here at welldonemovies.com understand why that was probably out of the question. Still, really great that we have the option to watch the film with Comanche audio (subtitled in English). The plot is nearly the same, but there are some interesting character changes when the native tongue is preserved. Seems more like the original version to me!

PPS: I know Halloween(1978) technically did it first, but come on! We've been waiting for somebody to go-all-Jamie Lee Curtis on the Predator for decades.