Follows Gladiator in its fierce spirit with flaws

Rating: 6/10 (5 January 2011)

The latest entry into the modern peplum (blood and sandals) film this film uses a bit of the Gladiator formula. The good news is that it doesn't overkill on CGI like 300. I'm still shocked how high 300 ratings are...really it's quite average but it appears to develop a cult following. Like some people consider McDonald's great food. Anyhow, like Gladiator, it deals with Roman legionnaires who fight for Rome although perhaps they'd rather retire and have a normal life with a family. Michael Fassbender and archrival Olga Kurylenko leads a strong, relatively unknown cast of legionnaires versus Picts.
The plot deals with the massacre of the Ninth Legion and how it tries to rescue its general but instead is hounded by Picts bent on revenge. The film is Gladiator meets Deliverance as the legionnaires and their Picts enemies hunt each other to death. The acting and cinematography is very good.
The films weakness is sometimes the action where the blood looks too bright like tomato juice. Aside from that, the action was fairly good and I think actually better than the over- CIGed 300. Neil Marshall was probably also rushed to finish this film on a limited budget. And the opening scenes which start off like an opera singer choking on a high note. It's a bit jarred at the start but as it gathers moss, it flies smoothly to the point. The final showdown isn't a big fight since the sides have been decimated but it leads to the end where futility in fighting for Rome is realized. Which is why I compare it to Gladiator. Its message is the simple life is more desirable than glory. Russell Crowe as Maximus loves his family and wanted to go home. Quintus Dias finds whats more important to him than glory.
It looked like the distributors/producers couldn't market this film and panicked thinking it won't sell tickets at the theater. So it was sadly pulled to go to DVD. Not a bad film.