The Last Legion is a rather interesting film chronicling the early part of Arthurian legend - before King Arthur and the rest came along. Thomas Sangster plays Romulus Augustus, the last Caesar - being Caesar isn’t actually much fun in the time the movie is set, what with them commonly being assassinated within a few days. His main protector is Aurelius in the form of Colin Firth, who early on gets on the wrong side of the boy - who thankfully is a forgiving sort and doesn’t have Aurelius head taken off. Romulus isn’t in for a long stint in charge of the Romans though - in fact, as an empire, the Romans are about to become extinct…

Along with a weird old wise guy (er,,, wise man, that should be) named Abrasions (played by Ben Kingsley) and a few remaining Praetorian guards, the young Caesar is to be transported to the last vestige of Roman rule - England. With Aishwarya Rai (Bride & Prejudice) completely failing to fool anyone but the cast members by her attempts to portray a soldier who at first is supposed to seem like a male (I mean, seriously, if the filmmakers really thought there was going to be any element of shock in the scene where we find out she’s a woman, they must have thought no-one actually looked at her character at all before that scene!), off they go with all and sundry trying to kill them. There are many challenges to overcome of course and a special sword to be found and given to its rightful owner. What will the situation in Britain be when they get there? The last remaining Roman legion is supposed to be there… but strange rumours are afloat…

The action moves along quite well, and there are some nice elements of humour (though it does rely rather too much on slapstick), and all in all it is a quite enjoyable movie. Though the sets and costumes aren’t exactly bad, they don’t quite look up to scratch and this suggests that the movie didn’t have a very large budget. The fight choreography too looked a bit sub-par - not exactly terrible, but not up to the tension and excitement you would expect from a big movie. This added to some slightly strange casting (by which I mean Colin Firth in an action hero role, which never seems to quite fit him although he tries hard to make it work) gives the film a certain TV-movie quality. The music (by Patrick Doyle) also failed to sound truly epic, though the score was nice moments and it had its moments.

It’s also quite weird seeing the Romans portrayed as the good guys, the bastions and peace and justice, etc, but that slant actually adds to the movie as it’s a bit different from what we normally see. At the end of the day I guess it’s still a case of rooting for the underdog - this is the last tiny bit of the crumbling Roman Empire in its desperate fight to exist. Both Romulus and Aurelius are likeable characters with discernable integrity, though it’s quite funny the way Romulus, despite only having a handful of subjects left, still quite expects to be treated as Caesar. Ben Kingsley’s character is always a bit of an enigma, but then he’s meant to be.

Directed by Doug Lefler, who has mostly made his career out of cheesy Greek mythology styled TV series like Hercules and Xena, keeps things moving along at a nice pace and its slightly unusual style helps it to be enjoyable. You can’t help but feel though that with a different cast, bigger budget and someone like Ridley Scott at the helm, this could have been a true epic. As it is, The Last Legion is an enjoyable enough movie with just enough style to carry it past its failings. If you like historical adventures (and aren’t too bothered by potential historical inaccuracies and mythical elements), you will probably enjoy it.


Set just after this time period is the ambitious TV movie Merlin, which you will enjoy if you’re interested in Arthurian legend.


Colin Firth has also starred in: Bridget Jones‘ Diary, Bridget Jones‘ Diary 2: The Edge of Reason, Nanny McPhee, St Trinians [2007].

Ben Kingsley also starred in Thunderbirds and Oliver Twist


Recommended: Yes