Reviews

All of the ingredients for a spectacular show are here: the cast is absolutely phenomenal (particularly Dan Stevens and Aubrey Plaza), the source material is immense, and the out-of-the-box creativity is a breath of fresh air in the sea of cookie cutter films and shows. But everything should be in moderation, and the creativity became more important than the story, particularly in the second season.

Legion is a lesson in missed opportunities, and it's a real shame. There was SO much potential for greatness! Instead, we were given weirdness for the sake of weirdness with no narrative purpose and undeveloped characters. The first season was also notable for its commentary on mental illness, which was pretty well abandoned in the second season, and was glossed over in the third. With that, the entire concept of the character, Legion, was barely explored - the comic book character's power came from distinct personalities, but that was at best alluded to (poorly) in the third season.

This was Noah Hawley's fault. With another show runner at the helm, the cast and creative team could've created a true masterpiece.

As a preface, I have never seen an episode of the original show; I knew Estrada was in it and that's all. So, if you're a fan of the series, I cannot say whether you will enjoy this film (though based on other reviews I've read, it seems unlikely).

What I can tell you is that I had low expectations and just wanted a laugh. Dax Sheppard's films have always been hit-or-miss for me. When I bought the tickets, I wasn't even aware that it was rated R.

I was very pleasantly surprised! My friend and I both laughed non-stop at the off-the-wall humor. The success of the jokes was in the delivery - often very deadpan and unexpected. Some reviewers complained about the sex addiction/masturbation jokes, but I found them hilarious due to Sheppard's sincere concern and Peña's awkward embarrassment.

As a motorcyclist, I very much enjoyed all the bike action and liked that they kept it relatively realistic (but don't look for realism as a general rule; that's not what comedy is about) regarding the necessary skills (Ponche thought he could match Baker and was sorely mistaken) and the comparative speed of a lightweight sport bike vs. the clunky cruisers. I also loved that, when they upgraded to sport bikes themselves, they wore proper full-body riding gear instead of promoting riding in street clothes as most films do.

In short: this is a riot, not an Oscar-winner. Go for laughs, not for a serious cop film.