Legion T.V. Series (2017)

Dir: Noah Hawley wrote some episodes and directed the first one. The other episodes had other directors and writers.
Starring: Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Bill Irwin, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Katie Astleton, Jean Smart
Dur: The first season has 8 episodes. Each episode is about 50 mins
Genre: Psychological drama
PG: Pretty graphic but not consistently so.
Rating: 7/10

This is a fancy, postmodern way of narrating a story. That it is the story of a lesser-known mutant is another matter altogether. The creator, Noah Hawley wanted to recreate the superhero genre. The lead character is interesting in himself but the narration of events takes an unheard of form.

The whole series revolves around David Haller (Dan Stevens) a mutant with a schizophrenic disorder. Since the story is told from his perspective, no effort is spared to recreate the schizophrenic mind and the reality is imagined from a schizophrenic standpoint. Logic leaves for a long tour. A very strong postmodern influence is sensible. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in knowing what postmodern theatre is about. Noah described the series as "a deconstruction of a villain... and a love story". The superhero aspect is kept to a minimum. I think it would be wrong to pass this off as a superhero series. It’s isn’t quite that. It may have its roots in the superhero genre but it transcends it and provides a twisted, mind-boggling, story that will surely have you in a whirl. The direction is commendable; acting is brilliant; camera work is fancy although at times it gets quite dizzying to keep up with what's going on and where things are building up to. 


I enjoyed it not simply because it is remotely superhero stuff (I'm a huge fan of the superhero genre), but more because I am slowly developing a curiosity and taste for postmodern culture and values. After having been introduced to postmodern philosophy and culture earlier this year I've become sensitive to anything that evenly subtly hints of postmodernism. The lack of consistency and traditional storytelling was another attention grabber. There will be many who will label it “stupid”, “mindless” or the like but those with an open mind it will definitely titillate.  

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