I've never heard of this before. It sounds... well, I dunno, kind of afwul but in a really fun way!

I guess I'm one of those 'obsolete' Christian-y, religious-y type people. While I normally reserve my judgement until I've actually SEEN a movie (and, yes, I liked The DaVinci Code), this sounds just plain stupid.

The whole premise, 'God gives up on us, but Michael disobeys Him and defends us against the rest of God's angels with mortal weaponry' is just plain ridiculous. Never mind it completely violates both of those people's nature. I'll never figure out why Hollywood thinks they need to take Biblical events/characters and screw with them.

There are PLENTY of incidents of drama, action, violence, etc. in Scripture. Heck, the whole 'end times' depiction in Revelation is RIDDLED with it. With special effects being what they are... to see an angelic army, led by Michael, lock horns with the fallen angels of Satans army would make the battle at Minas Tirith look like a skirmish.

It really IS possible to create a Scripture-based action, violent, dramatic picture that is high quality, will rake in the big bucks and NOT anger the 'religious nuts'. I suppose it's just easier and/or lazier to honk off the 'religious nuts' because at least you get some free advertising.

I agree with GreenwoodKevin! And I think that "Legion" does sound stupid. "Michael" rebelling against God on any level is unthinkable. (I wouldn't mind seeing Frank Peretti's trilogy set to f ilm.) The amount of heroic and tragic violence in Scripture should satisfy even the most hard-core scifi (oops, syfy) aficionado!
In this article doncha think that repeated profanity actually turns people off? No one I know talks like that. I saw in an earlier article there's even a movie title that is pure profanity.

Blasphemous garbage. Don't go to see it,
that way, they won't make as much profit
so that they can go out and buy more swimming pools and bigger houses.
Stop using the Bible for your own twisted ends Hollywood! Come up with something GOOD AND ORIGINAL for once!

First, I'm a Christian. But I am also a filmmaker, and I totally understand what Bettany is saying about it being fantasy. This is why I get so mad when Christians or people in general start trashing a movie for being inaccurate or "blasphemous." Films are FICTION! If it was meant as a documentary, I'd have a problem with it.

That being said, as a filmmaker who has already produced a film about angels, this does sound ridiculous. Like a SyFy movie of the month, which, sorry, SyFy, are just plain bad. But they're meant to be bad. There's an audience for it, for some reason, but this concept belongs in that category, not the category of brilliant acting from Bettany who is clearly slumming in this role.

I agree, GreenwoodKevin. Hollywood just can't help rewriting Scripture. There is plenty of drama in the Book of Revelation, as you said, but even in "end time" movies, Hollywood still can't get it right. ("I don't like Satan losing. Let's have him win -- or at least, make it a tie so we can have a sequel.")

Blue, I understand where you're coming from. Like I said, I liked The DaVinci Code. And you're right, filmmakers should be free to artistic license and be able to interpret stories through all kinds of different 'lenses' (double entendre intended).

That being said, you'll never see a movie depicting Oprah Winfrey as a psychotic mass-murderer. You'll never see a big-budget production that depicts Mohammed as a bumbling, illiterate loser who mis-interprets pictures on a bathroom wall and mistakes it for a new religion.

It just seems to me that there are several movies out there created for the exclusive purpose of getting a rise out of the 'Bible thumpers'. Our faith isn't so fragile that it can't take a shot of irreverence and criticism every now and then, but since when did we get the exclusive rights to cinematic abuse?

In the end, stupid is stupid... no matter who you honk off in the process. I'm just suggesting that, maybe, just maybe, instead of further walking away from the source material, filmmakers could try staying faithful to the source material. I think they could make a better movie that EVERYONE would enjoy.

Ordinarily, I don't side with the religious people, but in this case, I might. The movie sounds not great, although i will reserve judgement until I've seen more about it. I do think the idea of Michael leading an army of angels against a horde of Satan's demons in the end times would make for a great movie. Now if some bright person out there would write a script like that and start seriously peddling it...

...was there this much of a fuss when Prophecy and each of its sequels were made? It's a story. Imagine greater. lol.

How could Legion please the religious right, or the religious left for that matter? Another piece of drivel by "unimaginative" non-creatives based on "loose" "canon" at best. This movie was made several years ago and it was called Constantine and a fine film it is.

Why not expend energies on a movie aboout George Soros and MoveOn or the OSI, you know the organisations that masquearade as "Angels of Light". Much more interesting.

Watch this get published and be removed in less than fifteen minutes. The you'll know who owns SciFi.

"Stop using the Bible for your own twisted ends Hollywood!"

Yeah Hollywood leave it to the experts. Only the Christians are allowed to use the Bible for their own twisted ends. No one does it better or more often then they do.

Hey GigaShadow, find out the hard way and
then see who is "twisted", stupid.

Why do you incite ignorant and bigoted attitudes towards people of a particular faith or political persuasion? Under this crazy rhetoric homosexuals cause AIDS, Moslems are crazies, black people are crackheads and the list goes on and on. If this movie has any merit then let it be sold on said merits and not by provoking invective against a religious or political grouping. Are your articles written by actual journalists or are these the efforts of summer intern fanboys having a back to college laugh? Someone needs to screen or proofread your articles before publication time.

" Hollywood just can't help rewriting Scripture. "

Seriously?
Mankind, religious leaders, kings and translators have been rewriting scriptures for their own purposes for thousands of years. It goes on everyday in churches, political offices, wars and even on the internet. These rewrites are claimed to be the word of God. This is a frakking movie, people. Ridiculous? Maybe. Blasphemous? Who knows. But seriously, it's a movie. It's entertainment. It's FICTION. If you're going to get up in arms about scriptural rewrites, at least go after those who do it in God's name, and call themselves Christian.

Religion is a crutch for the weak willed masses.

Movies are "bread and circuses" for the weak willed masses.

Sometimes you can't please everyone.

As an atheist, I applaud this movie, and hope it rocks.

As a member of the weak-willed masses, gimme more circuses dammitall! =)

@HeeHaw56

Ha! Bring it on. I've see no evidence of your god. Your religion is nothing more than a cult. Keep believing in your superstitions from the dark ages and making threats you can't make good on. I'll continue to live in the real world.

Using Angels as the main theme in movies isnt something new, its been done before. However it hasnt been done right leaving the genre rather below average when it comes to success.
I mean from old movies like date with an angel, to the prophecy series, Bram Stoker's Shadow Builder, to the Australian film Gabriel.
So this movie is nothing new, tv series have had more luck with them, from that old micheal landon show, touched by an angel, to Supernatural I think even abc family had a mini series called fallen.
Anyways All the movies concerning Angels have never truly been succesful, perhaps if they pushed the envelope, give people what they see often in video games, Angels fully shown with wings and terrifying looks, instead of trying not to make the religious angry you might as well do the opposite, being timid has not resulted in any major successes, so you might as well push it the boundries.
This whole genre has potential but has never been truly explored.

The joke here is that the terms are Judeo-Christian in origin, but the meanings and characteristics bear little resemblance to anything in orthodox Christianity. The premise sounds like another bit of quasi-Catholic, mechanistic, superstitious pseudo-theology that usually gets trotted out for the plot of "we've got to stop the end of the world" movies.

What's depressing is the statement about gun lobbyists = religious right = Christianity. Unfortunately, that's as much a reflection of the poor job the Church is doing as it is anything to do with the media's perpetuation of religious stereotypes.

Funny how these religious nuts never complain about C. S. Lewis's use of Christian mythology in the Chronicles of Narnia.

I understand that this is fiction, but to suggest that it will make any religious person happy is ludicrous. This is purely taking a name and a couple images from the Bible and trying to make money off of it. Never mind that it's completely un-Biblical and borderline blasphemous.

Yes I'm aware that many Christians twist the Bible for their own purposes and they are worse than Hollywood because at lease Hollywood is honest about doing it purely for money. However, that doesn't debunk the entire religion any more than one bad movie makes them all bad.

Christians don't complain about C.S. Lewis using Christian themes because he tried to stay true to those themes (don't confuse the movies with the books).

"you'll never see a movie depicting Oprah Winfrey as a psychotic mass-murderer." Bahahahahahahahahah that would be awesome!

I'm not sure how the basic actions described (God destroying mankind and an angel rebelling against God) are completely against their natures.

Didn't God kill everyone (even all the beasts!) on earth except for Noah and his family, and the animals they brought aboard the ark? Didn't God destroy two cities and turn a woman into a pillar of salt just for looking back? Didn't God force a man to kill his own son (yes, staying his hand at the last moment, but after having done the emotional harm to him)? And isn't the basic plot of this movie just another rendition of the Apocalypse?

And didn't God's favorite angel, Lucifer, rebel against him?

The God described in the Old Testament was prone to spite, vengeance, murder and genocide. It is completely within His character to kill everyone on earth if they displeased him.

And if angels truly are as noble and loving as they are described, then it is completely within their characters to rebel against God if He is committing genocide. After all, Lucifer rebelled out of vanity. Why is it inconceivable that Michael would rebel for a nobler purpose?

I agree that the movie sounds tedious and dreary, and I'll certainly give it a pass. But the basic themes come right out of the Bible, however ham-handed they may be depicted in this film.

Wow. For anyone to assume that this movie would make Christians happy is incredibly, incredibly disturbing. Has Hollywood lost sight of the fundamentals of Christian faith so completely that they assume anything with mention of "god" is going to appease the "religious right"? First of all, the Bible clearly states that God is love (1 John 4:8), so much so that he sent his son to die for our sins. Scripture also states that God does not change, that he is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow (hebrews 13:8), so the love he had in sending his Son is not going to suddenly change. He loves humanity--us "pesky humans"--as much now as he did when he payed the ransom for our salvation on the cross. Simply put, God is love.

Now I'm seeing alot of references to the flood. First of all, the world had grown utterly corrupt at that point. Evil was rampant. And "the Lord saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (Genesis 6:5). Now God was not merely acting out of rage when he sent the flood, it was a heartbreaking decision for Him, as Genesis 6:6 says: "and it grieved him (God) to his heart." But even in that decietful time there was one righteous man, Noah, who "found favor in the eyes of the Lord (6:8)" and God spared him and his family. He still, even in that time, had a plan for Humanity, and that plan is still unfolding today, and as Revelation makes clear, he will follow that plan until completion, until the redemtion of the mankind is acheived.

One more side note about the flood. God made a covenant after the waters had subsided, saying "I will never again curse the ground because of man...Neither will I strike down every living creature as I have done. (Genesis 8:21)"

Wow people, get a freaking grip. OBVIOUSLY the statement that this movie would appease anyone of faith was tongue in cheek. Are you people so brainwashed that as soon as religion enters the region your brains get turned off?

Frankly, I am going to be keeping an eye out for this one. So far, it sounds like a fun saturday popcorn movie. Plus, anything that pisses off religious wackjobs (well represented in this thread I would say) is worth seeing if you ask me.

Hollywood is under no obligation to not insult any religion of their choosing. They can do whatever they want. And they have the right to rewrite scripture in any way that they choose. And people have a right to not see the movie.

I personally hate religion, and christianity, so I love seeing it mocked in movies. But I'm also a republican (yes, we atheist republicans who aren't obsessed with abortion and gay marriages actually exist) so I've had my share of feeling insulted or put down via Hollywood political speak.

It's a free country. They can do what they want. If you don't like it, make your own religious movies, or settle for the film works of Kirk Cameron.

@ cylon_conspiracy

I don't expect Hollywood not to insult Christianity ... and frankly, Christians and the Church have earned at least some of what's come to them. I see things all the time that irritate / offend me, but frankly, it's a free country, so those that want to produce hateful, scripturally twisted, or "outrageous" material can certainly do so. There's obviously an audience for it. And, people should be able to say what they like and create art as they see fit ...

What caused me to actually respond to this posting was the poor attitude of the person quoted as well as that of the author in using that title.

The title was misleading and stupid. When I first read it I assumed that it was sincere as well. Just like the "New Star Wars T.V. News (j.k.)" when there was absolutely nothing to report.

The title should have been "Legion actor pokes fun at religious right".

@ cylon_conspiracy

Exactly so ... internet postings often don't translate well anyway ... no tone of voice or expression to help. Obviously the SyFy folks are as inclined as anyone else in the media to stir the pot to attract attention.

Good times.

@ Bruce

Okay, I'll grant you that on a very basic level, the two concepts of "God destroying the world" and "an archangel rebels against God" are both in the Bible ... so I can see somebody lifting those out of context for a movie plot.

That said, the context is important, at least as far as Christians are concerned. God isn't human, so there's always a danger of anthropomorphizing Him too much ... the Christian concept is of a singlular, transcendant being that is quite alien in many respects ... particularly when it comes to "holiness," something we 21st Century Westerners (myself included) have a hard time grasping. Christians believe that, if God created humanity, and humanity defies Him, "falling," breaking His just laws, then He has the right to end their earthly existence, either individually or on a mass scale, as with the Flood. It also gives Him the right to test Abraham (who expected God to raise Isaac from the dead) and Isaac (who was certainly strong and fast enough to get away from his father) ... God never intended Abraham to literally sacrifice Isaac. Personally, my theory is that Abraham had recurring faith "issues" that God was dealing with.

Bottom line (for me) is that if God is capricious, I don't think any of us would be alive. As far as the Apocalypse goes, I'd say that what's described is only part of the Biblical Apocalypse. I don't subscribe to the Left Behind theology, but there's more to it than just having a bunch of angels come through and kill people. To be fair to the movie, I'm sure what was described above is not the extent of the explanation that will be provided ...

As for Michael rebelling, Christian doctrine indicates that he is no longer a free moral agent ... at some point in the past, Lucifer and a third of the angels rebelled, while the remainder stayed loyal to God, and all of them were essentially actualized in their choice. Hence the problem. For many Christians and Orthodox Jews, anyway. I'm not sure what Muslim theology says about angels ... and I'm certain there are Christians that might disagree with me on some points.

Anyway, I don't say all this to convince anyone of anything, necessarily, other than there are a few legitimate reasons why Christians will have some problems with the movie despite the use of concepts and words lifted from the Bible.

first of the all the movie is stupid second of all 2nd coming of christ is not coming back as a baby again in some random white women and have Micheal the leader of arch angels which his Hebrew name means

who is like God? going to stand in the middle of something God planned plus if who ever wrote this dumb movie last time i checked Jesus is the manifest from of god.

again what do have to do to get in the movie industry there sure not creative all district 9 probable the only creative work ive seen in long time that's not based on anything.
any who not trying to read to much into this but man this must be some propaganda obvisouly these writes suck they can't even write a script for a 2nd grade play for kids

This is ridiculous. Jesus is God!!!! So God is sending his angels to destroy himself ? Hollywood must have consulted with mormons, muslims and jehovah witnesses who deny that Jesus is God Almighty in the flesh. True Christians know that the Father, Jesus and the Holy Spirit are all the same ONE GOD ALMIGHTY, not 3 different Gods. Hence the Holy Trinity.

If god is real and trully omnipotent as the bible says he is, He wouldn't need an army of angels to kill all of humanity. He could just think a stray thought and all humans everywhere would just vanish from existance.

@HolyBeThyName

Mormons and Jehovah's are False Christians by your statement eh? So too are all Protestant Christians by your questionable and seemingly intolerant statements - Yet they too believe in God and Christ too. You'd think that you'd get along more...

Protestants see the commandment : "Thou shall not worship false idols" and think God and Christ are not the same thing - so worshipping Christ as God is false idolatry to millions of Christians, yet they too follow the many wisdoms of Christ , just as you do. Your personal lack of compassion and tolerance on display in your comments is a mismatch to the lessons of Christ, surely?

Btw Jehovah's, Mormons and Protestants do not believe that Christ or The Holy Father are gods. Only God is a god to them. Check your facts a little more before claiming that other types of Christians are poly-theistic and believe in 3 gods, they're don't. They believe in just 1 God, just as you do.

The trouble with using languages, such as English, to formulate logical statements that are clearly understood by your fellow humans is that each word we use has a separate meaning. The words God, Christ & The Holy Father share no common words between them. Telling people they're the same thing seems illogical and baffling and smacks of zealotry to many. Calm down a bit, work out what Christ was trying to teach us and thus forgive more people, even if their earthly descriptions differ from yours. Don't get hung up on the smaller issues and micro definitions that our ancestors invented. I bet you're a lovely person really.

Then go see this film for what it is, a Hollywood action film with presumably allot of plot-holes, nothing more or less. You might even like it.

Why has your personal faith turned you towards such denunciations of other's faiths? - they're all trying to explain the same exact things, surely?

There's obviously more of God's beauty due to variance than homogenisation after all. Films included. I cant wait to see this film. Looks like harmless fun.

Gotta say, this film is incredibly offensive.
All you people out there who say "it's fiction, you shouldn't be offended by it" need to have movies put out about your loved ones and how they are Child molesters, rapists, Murderers etc, then at the end they can put in big letters "FICTION" and how this was just for entertainment value yada, yada, yada.