Directed by
Doug Lefler

Produced by
Tarak Ben Ammar

Written by
Jezz Butterworth
Tom Butterworth
Peter Rader
Carlo Carlei
Valerio Manfredi

Music by
Patrick Doyle

Starring
Colin Firth(Aurelius)
Ben Kingsley(Ambrosinus)
Aishwarya Rai(Mira)
Peter Mullan(Odoacer)
Thomas Sangster(Romulus Augustus)
Kevin McKidd(Wulfila)
Rupert Friend(Demetrius)

Release dates
April 6,2007(United Arab Emirates)
April 19,2007(Russia)
June 8,2007(South Africa)
August 15,2007(Netherlands)
August 24,2007(Italy,Unites States)
September 7,2007(United Kingdom)

Other labels
Dernière légion, La(France)
Posledniy legion(Russia)

Overview
The Last Legion is another tread in the making of historical movies,gyrating around the Roman times.It's based on a 2003 Italian novel with the same title,written by Valerio Massimo Manfredi.
The motion picture's storyline is purely fictitious.One of the most discernible facts that strike the mind while watching this movie is the age of Romulus Augustus when he became Rome's emperor.In the movie,he's depicted as a twelve year old child who is crowned as the new Roman Emperor in the year 460 AD.On the eve of coronation,the barbarian warlord,Odoacer arrives Rome to have a pact with Orestes,father of Romulus.He demands one-third of the Italian peninsula in exchange for his military services to the empire but his proposal is refused by the highborn.Yet another significant role is that of Aurelius,the fourth legion's tribune,who is officially appointed as Romulus' personal guard.Contrary to the fact that Aurelius is a true Roman,the role isn't very well played by Colin.At many instances,he is seen panicking instead of acting boldly on the field.Nevertheless,he still makes up for his lack of expression.Next,on the day of coronation,the whole Rome gathers to rejoice on the ceremony and Romulus is crowned as the Emperor of Rome.One of the most disconcerting aspects of the film is the cast which has not been able to fetch the depth of its story.The only impressive role noticeable in the story is that of Ambrosinus,the shaman who acts as Romulus' tutor.He is portrayed as an old philosopher with some fighting skills as well.He is fired by Orestes,later.Anyways,subsequently,on the night of coronation,Rome is betrayed by Odoacer,who attacks Rome with a barbarian horde and overpowers the Romans very easily.The boy emperor is brought before him and taken to the island fortress of Capri along with his mentor,Ambrosinus.Aurelius and his fellow soldiers quest for freeing the boy from Capri.At Capri,Romulus finds the sacred sword of his ancestors,on which lies his carved fate.Romulus is freed and the group heads towards Britannia,which now consists of a beautiful woman from South India,called Mira.The trudge is initiated in a hope to find the last of the Roman legions.At last,they meet the legionnaires who refuse to join them at first because of a nearby barbarian threat,Vortgyn,who uses their family members as baits to reach the boy emperor and more essentially,Ambrosinus.But later,they all come to fight for the ultimate battle against Vortgyn.By gathering a few men from the ninth legion,Aurelius organizes a small force to fight against Vortgyn.In the final battle,Vortgyn leads his troops against a small fortress,holding Aurelius and his men.In a one-on-one combat,Ambrosinus slays Vortgyn and ultimately,his army is defeated.In the end,Romulus is shown throwing the sacred sword to a distant place as a symbol of peace to follow the battle's result.At a certain point of the story,it seems that Aurelius would lead his men and free Rome from Odoacer,but the story takes a different turn and that's what you get at last.The diversion is itself not very well worked out,making it a little less than an average movie.Surely,it could be much better.

Other aspects
At first look,you would never want to call it a movie made in 2006.It refrains from a catchy beginning,a compelling storyline,good music and above all,special effects.There's nothing for you if you are an enthusiast who looks forwards towards captivating titles like 300 and classics like Gladiator.

Music
Sadly,the movie couldn't even impress the spectators through a fine quality music.Patrick has made a minimal attempt at featuring the idea of this movie through exceptional music,which is quite perceivable throughout.The music isn't very bad or low-grade,but actually doesn't fit a historical movie or say,it's not noticeable as such at all.

Inference
It would not be wrong to deny that people had surely expected a lot out of it,but unhappily,it couldn't astound the masses as was expected.Such a move by a low-budget film isn't news,but not to negate the fact that the history-lovers would be disappointed for it.

Rating
4/10