| Created 2007..08.18;18 Updated 2007.09.03 |
by Robin Rowe [More
articles ]
2007.8.18
This review originally appeared in the British
Weekly. Images copyright The Weinstein Company.
3 stars ***
PG-13
USA Release: August 17th
Runtime: 102 min.
Distributor: MGM and the Weinstein Company
Roman bodyguard Colin Firth and Xena-inspired sword fighter Aishwarya Rai snatch 12-year-old Caesar back from the Goths to make a last stand the one place where the crumbling Roman Empire still holds...at Hadrian’s Wall in Britannia.
The Last Legion has a great story premise and a great cast. Colin Firth is recognized everywhere as Mr. Darcy from the mini-series Pride and Prejudice and the beautiful exotic Aishwarya Rai starred in the Bollywood version Bride & Prejudice. The result is not, however, a witty Pride and Bride with Xena swordplay, but a grumpy prequel to Excalibur. Instead of focusing on the tantalizing romance between two attractive stars, the story follows aloof Thomas Sangster’s quest to be Caesar and wield the magic sword Excalibur aided by a self-righteous Ben Kingsley as Merlin.
Rupert Friend, who was wicked Wickham in the movie Pride and Prejudice, delivers a standout performance as the rookie Roman guard who doesn’t like being razzed by the old dogs. Director Doug Lefler had directed Xena: Warrior Princess, and that’s the type of role Aishwarya Rai has in The Last Legion as Mira. "She’s a character I could identify with", says Rai, "and I am sure other women will, too." Colin Firth is the smoldering romantic lead type, not really an action hero, but he handles the role of Aurelius. Director Doug Lefler says, "I wanted him to be more of a strategist than just somebody who was good with a sword." If only Lefler had stuck to that plan. The Last Legion has more brutish swordplay than witty strategizing.
The rescue of young Caesar from the island stronghold of the Goths is the high point of the movie, both figuratively and literally. Tabarka, on the northern coast of Tunisia, and the crystal clear blue sea around it stood in for the Island of Capri. "Tunisia is not so far from southern Italy", says producer Martha De Laurentiis. "It looks and feels the same. There’s a fantastic studio there, Empire Studios, where they recreated Rome. They seem to have kept every building from every production ever made there. We didn't have to rebuild ancient Rome. It already existed there!" Filming took fourteen weeks, between August and November of 2005. Slovakia in Eastern Europe doubled for Britannia.
The Last Legion is based on the book by Valerio Manfredi. Screenwriters Jez & Tom Butterworth had written the 2001 Miramax comedy-thriller Birthday Girl. There are some memorable lines in the film, such as when Colin Firth is asked how many are they as the attacking hordes pour down on them and he replies, "Not as many as I thought." If the entire movie had that tongue-in-cheek spirit it would be a keeper. The dull narrated opening and let’s-explain-everything epilog make the movie seem worse than it really is. The idea of retreating to Hadrian’s Wall was a brilliant story premise. Perhaps 300 panicked the filmmakers into trying to make Excalibur.
Starring Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley, Aishwarya Rai, Peter Mullan, Kevin McKidd, John Hannah, and Thomas Sangster. Director Doug Lefler. Producers Martha De Laurentiis, Raffaella De Laurentiis, and Tarak and Ben Ammar. Zephyr Films, DDL of Italy, Carthago Films, Koliba Production & Services and Empire Productions in association with Ingenious Film Partners LLP.
