Visceral (anti-)war epic

Rating: 6/10 (28 April 2010)

All guts, no glory: that seems to be the message of Neil Marshall's "Centurion". Although the splattery battle scenes are its main selling point, it is also one of the most uncompromisingly anti-war films I have ever seen. It doesn't just say that war is futile; it says that was is death. You are asked to leave your humanity behind and become a killing machine, and then you most likely end up dead anyway, one more anonymous "number" for the history books. There are no "good" or "bad" sides, either; the story is mostly told from the perspective of the Romans, of course, but both they and the Picts are trapped in an endless cycle of violence (the parallels with contemporary wars are so obvious that they don't even need to be stated). The battle scenes are not entirely free of the trendy quick-cutting/blurry-editing syndrome, however Marshall is to be commended for avoiding CGI and using old-school, practical effects instead. The big battle where the Ninth Legion gets nearly annihilated is a bit too chaotic (yes, I realize that a real battle during that era would be pretty much exactly like that), but the "last stand" fight at the abandoned fort near the end is genuinely exciting - it has a definite "Do or Die" feel to it. Add points for some eye-filling panoramic shots of hills, valleys, forests and rivers; subtract points for the sometimes too-contemporary dialogue ("Your mother must have had a great sense of humor" - "She was a f*****g comedian!"). Although the frenetic pacing (especially in the first half) doesn't allow for much character development (beyond a few "bonding" scenes), Michael Fassbender gives a very strong performance as the lead. Olga Kurylenko is fixating (with "Centurion", "Quantum of Solace" and her still-unreleased female assassin film "Kirot", she is becoming quite the dedicated action actress; her skill with the spear in particular in this movie is very impressive); Ulrich Thomsen is powerful as the leader of the Picts; Imogen Poots is extremely lovely as perhaps the only ray of hope in this world; Dominic West, despite his second billing, has very little to do. **1/2 out of 4.