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:

Sat. Dec. 5	6:15 AM	HBO
Fri. Dec. 11	4:30 PM	HBO

Cast

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

Colour:

Colour

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:

Director Doug Lefler managed to get all of the family of Thomas Sangster in the film (uncredited). At 01:01:10 Thomas' mother Anastasia is shown hugging Kustennin, commander of the Ninth Legion, and again at 01:09:40 as Ygraine's mother. At 01:03:25 Thomas' younger sister Ava is shown as the first Celtic girl in the scene where Ambrosinus explains the heritage of Caesar's sword. At 01:10:48 in the background by Kunstennin, as the blacksmith begins stating his view of Romulus living among them, is Thomas' father Mark.

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:

[on the morning of the battle]
Aurelius: If we don't live to see tomorrow...
Mira: Nothing will ever part us.

Movie Connections:

References Love Actually (2003)

Delightful Adventure

In 460 AD, the Goths leaded by Odoacer (Peter Mullan) invade Rome; kill the parents of the Caesar Romulus Augustus (Thomas Sangster) and send the boy and his tutor Ambrosinus (Ben Kingsley) to a prison in Capri. The govern of Constantinople together with Senator Nestor (John Hannah) send the warrior Mira (Aishwarya Rai) to help the loyal commander Aurelius (Colin Firth) to rescue Romulus with a few soldiers that have survived the attack and bring him to Constantinople. They succeed in their mission but when they return, they discover that they have been betrayed by Nestor. Without any other alternative, they navigate to Britannia to meet the last Roman legion, but they have a huge surprise.

"The Last Legion" is a delightful adventure absolutely underrated in IMDb. The story recalls those classic adventures of Errol Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks Jr., with good plot and no gore and a wonderful cinematography, indeed a great family entertainment. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "A Última Legião" ("The Last Legion")