A "Splat Pack" take on Roman history!

Rating: 6/10 (18 November 2010)

'CENTURION': Three Stars (Out of Five)
Neil Marshall (writer and director of 'DOOMSDAY', 'THE DESCENT' and 'DOG SOLDIERS') writes and directs this historical adventure film about Roman soldiers under attack behind enemy lines in Northern Britain. Marshall is a horror and gore master and a member of the "Splat Pack", an unofficial grouping of named modern horror filmmakers. This film is more of an adventure / war film but it still has a surprising amount of gratuitous violence. The film, like Marshall's others, was filmed in the UK and features actors like Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, David Morrissey and Olga Kurylenko (the most recent 'Bond' girl).
The film revolves around Roman soldier Quintus Dias (Fassbender) who is the lone survivor of a Pictish attack on a Roman frontier fort. He's taken captive by the Picts and later escapes. He then is enlisted in the Ninth Legion and returns for vengeance on the Picts alongside General Virilus (West). The legion is ambushed, Virilus is taken prisoner and the remaining, living group, of Roman soldiers is left to fend for their own behind enemy lines. The Picts are led by the vengeful Etain (Kurylenko) who led the legion into the ambush and double crossed them.
The film is mildly entertaining but for me it just doesn't live up to Marshall's other films. I really liked 'DOOMSDAY' and I enjoyed 'THE DESCENT' and 'DOG SOLDIERS'. The action scenes were cool but a little too violent, in a way that didn't seem necessary (although I'm one of the last people to complain about film violence). The main thing I felt was lacking in the film is that the characters aren't very interesting or likable (maybe partially due to lackluster performances). I also felt kind of strange being forced into rooting for the Roman soldiers when they really were the bad guys of the film; the narrative was all wrong. Overall the movie is a slightly above average adventure film.
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