NateWatchesCoolMovies Legacy: Black Ops is a good one. Like so many indie products, it has been marketed to look like an action flick for DVD, but the truth is something more akin to a psycho – political thriller. Clearly influenced by both the Bourne films and Jonathan Demme's The Manchurian Candidate, it reins the intrigue in somewhat for an intimate, starkly paced look at one man who is on the brink of losing both his mind and memories in the wake of a special ops mission gone awry. Idris Elba gives a mini powerhouse as Malcolm Grey, a battle scarred veteran who has isolated himself in a drab motel room, ruminating on a calamitous outing with his fellow squad members to find and take out eastern European extremist Salenko (Julian Wadham). Whatever went wrong sent a chain reaction down the ranks and left them divided in years to come, but we are only treated to unreliable fragments of these events, reflected through the prism of Malcom's broken mind. He receives visits from his squad mates, but are they really there, or yet another illusion dreamt up to avert his gaze from the truth? Character actor Richard Brake is O'Keefe, his longtime friend and second in command, providing sympathy and solid support during the mission we see unfold in hectic flashbacks. Adjacent to this plot is the political rise of Malcom's brother Darnell (Eamonn Walker) riding the wave of an election that will put him in a seat of immense power, but one wonders how he's connected to Malcolm and his past? How indeed. It's confusing to say the least, but never trips over its own ambitions, sewing threads of concise cause and effect throughout it's story, which is emotionally downbeat and melancholic in nature, a stylistic choice that really works in the film's favour. If you're willing to sit, absorb and meditate on a slow burner of a tale that feeds you pieces of the puzzle bit by bit, with almost zero action to be found, have at 'er. I enjoyed it immensely.

fowlerkp I absolutely loved this movie. It was so suspenseful I was tempted to fast forward, but then I would have missed the nuances. Idris Alba is so talented and very sexy to boot. This movie was full of so many UK actors I love. I love seeing them hide their UK accents. I am going to have to watch it again to figure out what parts were really real. It was one movie well worth the watch. It is too bad this type of movie does not make it to the big screen. I will now be looking for more movies with Iris Alba. He certainly has a talent for playing with a good story. Thank you Netflix for this is the only place I know to find things that don't make it in blockbuster movie theatres.

celr This movie has a problem that many movies have: it's a story that could be told in less than an hour but the film makers felt they had to expand it to fit feature length. It's well made, and the acting is great, but it gets tiring very fast. The suspense sags and the ending just isn't justified by all the waiting. To compare it to Hitchcock is absurd. Malcolm is a psychologically wounded soldier back from a clandestine operation. He's holed up in a shabby hotel room fighting his demons. He was a member of a covert operation that went bad, he wound up killing the family of a terrorist, and then, to make things worse, was captured and tortured by the very terrorist whose family he had killed. We come to understand that he was betrayed, but who betrayed him? And was the betrayal necessary to protect the operation or was it just to cover someone's behind?Now he's escaped from an army medical facility and is mentally disintegrating by himself in that shabby room. Some elements of the film are hardly believable and what is real and what is imagined is never really clear. That war can have devastating psychological effects on soldiers is well known. But we also want to know the mechanics of the operation that went wrong, and the decisions that were made. The operation was set up in order to stop a dangerous terrorist who was in possession of a large quantity of sarin gas, and is intent on wiping out a major American city, at least the infidels who live in it. These details are in the background and are leaked out as the movie progresses, at least to the extent we can believe Malcolm, who is clearly delusional and drunk most of the time. Even in his right mind Malcolm may not know what happened at the highest levels. Meanwhile we have to watch Malcolm going crazy and telling his story in a rambling, confused videotape. The craziness, though skillfully performed, obscures our understanding the the story, so we're left wondering what really went down. We can sympathize with his pain. Brave soldiers can be scarred for life, but having to wait for plot elements to emerge while watching Malcolm disintegrate in his paranoia and guilt is excruciating. In fact, the only real suspense is wondering what Malcolm is finally going to do to resolve his dilemma. When the ending comes it's an anti-climax. There are no bad guys here (except the terrorists) and really no sense of justice because it's difficult to know for sure who was involved or what decisions were made. Moral clarity is something you need for a successful thriller, but here the moral lines are blurred.

Excalibur Legacy is one of those films in the vein of your 'Memento', 'Manchurian Candidate' or 'Marathon Man'. By this I mean, the classic high pressure dramatic thriller scenario where the protagonist seems to be the only person plugged into the truth while the powers that be perpetuate an illusion to the world that he feels the necessity to break. The drama and intensity is then heightened by the fact that the key players in opposition to his revelation of the truth have all the power and he stands alone. Will he succeed in his mission or wont he? ... there in lies the movie !!Idris Elba carries the responsibility for this lead role in 'Legacy' and does so, surprisingly, to impressive effect. I was never particularly fond of 'The Wire' nor am I a massive fan of Idris but he had a job to do in this movie, a very difficult job I might add as he anchors what is to all intents and purposes a solo lead plot, and he did that job d**n well. He never ceases to be convincing or engaging and he immerses himself in the role with a relentless conviction from start to finish that has me wondering whether award season might just send him a few surprises. We'll wait and see !!On the flip side, some of the drama that 'Manchurian Candidate' or 'Marathon Man' use theatrics and dialogue to achieve, 'Legacy' sometimes uses brut violence instead. For those of a delicate disposition, this can be heavy going but for those, who could make it through 'Rambo 4' without passing out, this is a walk in the park!'Legacy' is a film that improves on reflection. Long after you have watched it, while you are sitting in your kitchen waiting for the toaster to do its thing, you find yourself having private EUREKA moments when the stars seem to align and the movie makes a whole new level of sense. Moments that have the same shock effect on you as for instance, the Keyser Soze moment from 'The Usual Suspects' or the revelation of the true meaning of Haley Joel Osment's 'I see dead people' at the end of 'Sixth Sense'. (Here comes the spoiler ... 'Legacy' also has one of those plot shockers!)All in all 'Legacy' is a good watch that I would recommend, but approach it with an alert mind and sturdy nerves, it is not for the faint hearted !