The Last Legion (2007) Free Online

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The film is loosely inspired by the events of 5th century European history, notably the collapse of the Western Roman Empire under its last Emperor, Romulus Augustus. This is coupled with other facts and legends from the history of Britain and fantastic elements from the legend of King Arthur to provide a basis for the Arthurian legend.

The film is narrated by one Ambrosinus, native to Britain, who knows of a legend concerning the sword of Julius Caesar, which was hidden away from evil men. It begins shortly before the coronation of Romulus as Emperor in 460.

Having traveled through much of the known world in search of Caesar's sword, Ambrosinus has then become Romulus's tutor. At times, he gives the impression he is a magician, but his "magic" is just a blend of mysticism and trickery. Romulus's father Orestes apparently rules Rome but is not Emperor himself (historically, the commanding general of the Roman army).

On the day before the coronation, Odoacer, commander of the barbarian Goths who serve Rome, demands large concessions of territory from Orestes, but is rebuffed. The same day, Romulus meets the general Aurelianus Caius Antonius, called "Aurelius", for the first time.

The night after Romulus is crowned, Rome is attacked by the Goths. Most of Aurelius's men, tasked with protecting the emperor, are killed, though Aurelius is only stunned and left for dead. Orestes and his wife are killed by Odoacer's henchman Wulfila, who captures Romulus.

Next day, Odoacer, now ruler of the Western Empire, plans to have Romulus killed. However, Ambrosinus convinces Odoacer to spare the boy. Instead, Romulus is exiled to Capri along with Ambrosinus, guarded by Wulfila and his men. His prison is a villa constructed more than four centuries earlier by the emperor Tiberius.

With Ambrosinus's help, Romulus finds a hidden chamber in the villa with a statue of Julius Caesar holding a sword forged for him by a Chalybian smith after his military campaigns in Britain. The sword bears the inscription "CAI ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¢ IVL ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¢ CAES ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â€šÂ¬Ã‚Â¢ ENSIS CALIBVRNVS". "Cai. Iul. Caes." is Julius Caesar's full name, abbreviated. Though not explained fully in the film, "ensis caliburnus" appears to mean "the sword Caliburnus". Writing near the statue's feet states the sword was made for "he who is destined to rule".

Romulus and Ambrosinus are rescued from Capri by the loyal Aurelius and three surviving legionaries, accompanied by an Indian warrior named Mira (from Kerala). They take Romulus to a seaport where the Eastern Roman Empire's emissary (whom Mira works for) and the senator Nestor have promised safe passage to Constantinople. However, Romulus and his loyalists barely escape after they learn the Senate and the Eastern Empire have betrayed them and sided with Odoacer.

Romulus and Aurelius seek refuge in Britain, where the Ninth Legion (called the Dragon Legion) may remain loyal, being far from the events. They are followed by Wulfila and his men. The party travels to Hadrian's Wall and initially find no evidence of the legion until a farmer approaches and reveals that he was the legion's commander. With the collapse of Roman support of Britain, the legion had decided to disband and settle as farmers. They also did not want to antagonize Vortgyn, the powerful warlord of Anglia. Later that night, Ambrosinus tells a tale to a crowd about the origins of the sword; how it was forged from "a stone of fire that fell to the earth, cooled in the ice of a mountain & turned into iron" (meaning that the sword was forged from a meteorite) & the meteorite being found by a Calibian master blacksmith who hammered at it in his furnace for "three days & three nights", never once stopping for rest nor nourishment. The sword's cutting edge was tampered in the blood of a lion and on its hilt the master blacksmith carved a pentangle (a mathematical term for a pentagram; the pentagram being a sacred pagan symbol that was yet to gain the demonic notoriety it was so well-known of in the Middle Ages until now) Ambrosinus also describes that the sword served one & only one cause; the truth (i.e. justice & righteousness).

Vortgyn desires the sword of Caesar (as does Wulfila) as he aspires to rule the whole of Britain; after meeting with the Goths, he decides to either capture or kill Romulus as a gesture to Odoacer. Romulus, Aurelius, and a few supporters mount a battle against Vortgyn's forces at Hadrian's Wall which appears hopeless until the rest of the Ninth Legion takes up its old Roman arms and uniforms and turns the tide of the battle. The two warring sides cease their hostilities when Ambrosinus kills Vortgyn at a temple near the battlefield. Romulus kills Wulfila with Caesar's sword, avenging his parents.

Repulsed by the deaths in the battle, Romulus heaves away his sword which remarkably pierces a large rock and becomes lodged there. Many years later, Ambrosinus, now known as Merlin, takes a young boy to the battlefield to describe the now legendary events. The boy, whom Merlin calls Arthur, asks what happened to Romulus. Merlin, who has visibly aged little since the battle, says he became a wise ruler and adopted the name "Pendragon", and the boy recognizes him as his father, and the local girl Romulus married, Ygraine, as his mother. Time has also caused the original Latin inscription on the sword to be obscured by moss, and it now appears to read "ES CALIBVR."

The film was based on a well-received book by Italian author Valerio Massimo Manfredi. There are several differences between the movie and the novel: in the novel, Aurelius was a low-ranking officer rather than a general. The movie altered the capital of the Western Empire from Ravenna to Rome. In the novel, the Nova Invicta legion (the Last Legion of the title) was destroyed much earlier.

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