Blood and Mayhem

Rating: 7/10 (28 August 2010)

Those who are fans of HBO's "Rome," or Starz's "Spartacus" will be pleased with "Centurion." It doesn't have the narrative of "Rome," nor the trashy-goodness of "Spartacus," but what it takes from both of them is violence. And boy does it have a lot of it.
The story follows a group of roman soldiers trapped behind enemy lines. Outnumbered, they must trek through enemy territory to rescue their general, Virilus (Dominic West), who was captured following an ambush. This group is lead by Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender), who previously survived a raid on his fort by the Pictish, before escaping and being rescued by General Virilus and his 9th Legion. General Virilus, a man's man, was summoned by Julius Agricola (Paul Freeman), a Roman Governor. He was then given the task to go on the offensive, and wipe out the Picts, for no reason other than to help Julius return to Rome. It seems like this is the motive of EVERY Roman politician outside of Rome. Accompanying his legion is the female tracker, Etain (Olga Kurylenko), a Pict herself who now helps the Romans (think Wes Studi in "The Last of the Mohicans"). She may look pretty, but when she screams, you see how dirty her teeth are, and think to yourself "I wouldn't want to kiss that."
The plot is very solid, but nothing special and the cast do their best with the material. Voice-Over narration by Michael Fassbender's character, Quintus, is heard throughout the movie. It's not overly done, and serves it's purpose by giving us insight to Quintus. He's the typical roman soldier, honorable, yet filled with national pride. You have no problems rooting for him. Etain, has no tongue, so we don't have to hear Olga Kurlenko speak. All she has to do is make intimidating faces that look more cute than menacing. The rest of the cast is solid, and there's even a black guy in the legion! Guess what happens to him. Every roman solider speaks with an English accent, while the Picts sound Scottish. This isn't "Mel Gibson's Centurion," so I have no problems with this. After all, this is an English speaking film. My only gripe is that not enough attention is paid to the characters before they start dying off.
Director Neil Marshall (The Descent) really knows how to give his films a sense of dread and unease. Like "The Descent," the protagonists of "Centurion" are chased, and have to survive in an environment they know nothing about. This film is also gory as hell. Heads are not only decapitated, but are diagonally cut in half. Swords go through bodies like they're 99% liquid, and limbs are easily detachable. Hell, even being pushed into a tree while running will result in a blood splatter. One thing this film does not lack is ways to kill people. The kills are very much the highlight of this film, and the blood here is not as cartoonish as the blood in "Spartacus." Primarily shot in the forests of Hampshire, England, "Centurion" is very pleasant to look at; the cast is surrounded by tall trees, and snowy mountains. This accentuates the battle sequences and makes them more enjoyable.
"Centurion" contains everything you expect in a film about Romans: blood, betrayal, even a hint of politics – but sorry, no sex. However it has a very by-the-books story, and it's characters lack emotion. Aside from Quintus, it's hard to feel for any character, but the movie doesn't care about that. It's a gritty period action flick, and if you like violent deaths, you won't care either.