THE LAST LEGION

"For Rome"

The Roman Empire is falling at the hands of the barbarians, Romulus Augustus (Sangster) the last heir to the Roman throne is forced to flee the ransacked city. With Aurelius (Firth) as his protector and Ambrosinus (Kingsley) his wise, old advisor and mentor, they head for Britannia, the home of the last legion still loyal to Rome. Along the way Ambrosinus uncovers a secret that will lead them to something that will turn the battle in their favour, a fabled sword known as Excalibur.

When it comes to tales of Excalibur you might be expecting the Knights of the Round Table, magic, the Holy Grail, Genevieve, Arthur and a sword in the stone but 'The Last Legion' is very different.

We all know the story of the sword in the stone, either via the many live action adaptations or the Disney animated classic but 'The Last Legion' tries to reveal where Excalibur came from, all the battles and fights it won and how it ended up in the stone. This, of course, is an adventure all on its own and it starts at the fall of the Roman Empire at the hands of the barbarians from the north. This makes for an action adventure movie that goes more for adventure than it historical epic and this is what makes it enjoyable.

While 'King Arthur' back in 2004 tried the historical epic route in its retelling of the Arthurian legend and it failed to ignite the box office but even though they both went down the Roman legion path in Britannia, 'The Last Legion' doesn't take itself too seriously. This is an action adventure with heroes and villains, swords and sandals and courage and sacrifice, ideal for a family adventure and for the most part it succeeds but this is because of the quality of the cast.

Leading the line is Colin Firth as Aurelius, a dedicated Roman commander who is determined to save the young Emperor from certain death. This is a very different role for Colin Firth but it is one that he really has fun with and it proves again that you can make anyone into an action star. One of Bollywood biggest stars, Aishwarya Rai plays Persian warrior Mira and she also excels in the action sequence. She is unbelievably beautiful but matches this with acting talent that has finally been noticed by Hollywood. Sir Ben Kingsley brings a little bit of class to the proceedings as Ambrosinus, mentor, wise man and possibly wizard. Peter Mullen and Kevin McKidd make good villains but they are slightly too pantomime like. Thomas Sangster is also a very good child actor and makes a good Romulus Augustus.

'The Last Legion' is a fun romp of a historical action flick. More like a boys-own adventure that never takes itself too seriously, this is good family entertain and a film that everyone can enjoy. This shows that there can be more to the story of the sword in the stone than just King Arthur.