It's good for what it is.

Rating: Null/10 (27 July 2011)

Michael Fassbender stars in this tale of Roman soldiers in the AD hundreds whose army was conquered and disintegrated by a troublesome war-clan called the Picts. As their General was captured and their army lines splintered, the remaining survivors headed by Fassbender went on a mission to save their imprisoned general.
The movie in itself was fun. It is not ground breaking cinema or anything like that. It is a gore festival not shying on battles and spears and axes that mutilated and bloodied whoever its poor target is. Heads are decapitated right on screen, throats cut and not just implied, fountain of blood flows freely in the battle sequences, body parts are hacked off in gruesome fashion – all in all a nice violent take of realism on the battlefield.
The film is as entertaining as it gets in a classic spin of cat and mouse. The Roman hunters who are trying to conquer the vast lands of Great Britain are now the hunted, trying to run away from the guerilla Picts. Leading the hunting Picts is a She-Wolf mute named Etain (Olga Kurylenko from the Quantum of Solace fame). On the other side are the hunted Roman soldiers trying to do the best they can to survive together – even if it means eating from a stomach of a dead stag, jumping off a cliff and just running by foot as the visuals take the audience to beautiful images of Britain. It has a Seven Samurai element in it too, where strangers with a common cause must band together to achieve their goal.
The cinematography did remind me of Lord of the Rings at some parts. How certain scenes were shot was quite amusing and cool. It has that sweeping effect that takes you right on the action. Battle visuals are edited in quick cuts and succession that make you feel like you are the one doing the hacking and fraying. While the edit in the action scenes is great, transitions to setting another scene is a corny cross-fade that makes it look like a fan video on YouTube.
Another of the movie's strength is the cast. Fassbender is now on the rise as one of the most formidable actors in Hollywood right now. He is effective as the titular holder of the film – charismatic, beautiful, and will make you want to root for him.
The stand out for me though is Dominic West, the charming general Virilus who led the army against the guerilla fight. He was engaging at the very moment he was introduced and lovable too. One soldier even commented that he would die for his general. And I totally understand why because I sense it on how West plays him. I totally understand why people would die for his character.
The film by the end introduced a romance subplot which I think came out of nowhere but I'm OK with it. The girl (Imogen Poots) is so beautiful! Her eyes are amazing. Maybe this is the reason why the romance sits well with me.
The thing that I hate about this film is Etain's character being a spearwife and besting Roman soldiers. It's as if every movie right now should have a girl power element. Not to mention that this girl is the greatest tracker, leader, smart and badass fighter of the Picts. I don't know why but it somehow ruined the film.
It's still fun though.