I really wanted to like it, but...

Rating: 3/10 (27 March 2008)

This story had a lot going for it: a great cast, a fun story, the possibilities of modern CGI, and the landscape of western Europe. I was willing to overlook some of the absurd historical inaccuracies, like the possibility that Julius Caesar's bloodline survived into the late 5th century. Historical fiction can have some poetic license here and there, and getting too critical on the details would be like condemning Shakespeare for the liberties he takes with his plays.
This movie reminded me of some of the campy samurai movies and Sinbad adventures of the 70s, or even Conan the Barbarian. The fight scenes were just plain goofy. A look at the director's resume explains a lot. Aishwarya Rai was very pleasing on the eyes, but there was no chemistry between her and Colin Firth, or among any of the characters for that matter. With such promising material, I can only chalk up the mediocrity of this movie to bad directing. Doug Lefler should never be given something like this again.