Enjoyable hack and slash romp

Rating: 6/10 (3 September 2010)

This film is enjoyable if you take it for what it is: a simple hack and slash romp. It's certainly not another Gladiator. It has nothing like that film's subtlety or moral depth. Nor are its action scenes on a par, although they are good.
The script could probably have benefited from another round of drafting. Some of the story elements don't make a lot of sense if you think about them too much; others are insufficiently well-developed.
Dominic West is excellent as the Roman general; Olga Kurylenko and Dave Legeno are both striking, although they have no speaking parts.
The camera work was evocative and moody, certainly on a higher plane than the script.
Much like Marshall's Doomsday, this is an enjoyable action flick as long as you sit back and don't think about it too much.