Legion: The Calm Before The Storm

I was going to do an enemies list post today, but I am going to let that one sit for a couple more days to simmer, as it was going to involve things that are going on this week, and in one case, I've clearly gone to that well too often.

However, I did have another thought this week after seeing numerous ads for a movie which looks like something I would enjoy, but which I think might get a negative reception from certain groups of people (and no, I am not talking about film critics).

You see, I am sort of waiting to hear what kind of backlash the movie Legion is going to get from the really chatty and generally disapproving cadre of evangelical and other Christian groups who usually have something to say about everything if it has anything to do with their faith.

In this case, if you haven't seen any trailers for this movie, or heard of it, it tells the tale of God's Wrath against mankind in the form of ravenous, body stealing angels and the defense of a small group of people, including a pregnant woman (who is carrying the only hope for humanity) by a Gerard-Butler-in-300-abbed and multiple machine-gun wielding Archangel Michael, played by Paul Bettany.

Now, again, I haven't seen the movie, but I have a feeling that the idea that angels are killing off humanity and they are the bad guys in all this might upset some folks. Or the fact that the hero, the Kyle Reese of the whole thing is an archangel who turned his back on God (Church Lady: sounds a little like.... SATAN!). Or the fact that the angel-inhabited people (ok, aside from the leads, all the angels) look absolutely demonic, and in some shots, they look like a plague of locusts.

You know, all the kinds of stuff that make a certain set of people really uncomfortable and makes them want to tell everyone about how upset they are. I get upset about things and I blog it out, but these people get upset and they try to do something about it.

Who wants to make a bet that William Donohue of the Catholic League will have a press release or television appearance within 3 days of the film's release.

I mean, personally, angels in this situation are almost interchangeable with say 9 foot blue aliens, but we have to remember that people got really bent out of shape about those recently too, so it really is a no-win situation.

But for me, I just want to see the firing of lots of big guns in a movie. It doesn't really matter if they are fighting other human beings, giant spiders, aliens, mutants, ghosts, unspeakable horrors from the depths of the ocean, Godzilla, predators, machines, elves, vampires, zombies, angels, demons... as long as someone is getting shot at and someone is shooting at them in what amounts to a largely unwinnable situation, I am happy.

I am going to say this now and for the entirety of the potential moaning in the future. It is only a movie. It isn't an anti-Christian assault on your belief system by evil liberal Hollywood. It is just a movie.

Tags: legion, paul bettany, godzilla, 300, archangel michael, christian, william donohue, demons, apocalypse, machines, elves, blue aliens, avatar, catholic league, evangelicals, christian hate, rapture