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Highly Overrated But Still Good

A lot of fun.

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This film is based on the mysterious disappearance of IX Legio Hispana, one of the Roman legions. We know that it remained a long time in Britain but it's disappearance from the records without any mention has elicited several speculations. This is precisely what this film does, creating a story where it takes advantage of the best known hypothesis for this disappearance: the massacre of this legion in combat. Many classicists disagree with this theory and you can find enough specialized literature on the subject by the hand of the most notable historians, but the fact is that the story created for this film is plausible, which helps to create a pleasant sense of historical accuracy, with some understandable yields when dramatic effect or pragmatic issues prevailed. One of the things that caught my attention was the crystalline similarity between the battle represented in the film and the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where General Varo lost his life and his legions in the time of Augustus. It was, in fact, a good action sequence, with touches of realism that only sinned by the exaggeration, of fake blood used.The cast was very good. Michael Fassbender was very convincing in the role of a centurion, who survives the carnage and tries to return. Less happy was the idea of making each of the surviving soldiers come from a region of the empire. We have already seen this cliché previously, I believe it was used in the 2004 movie "King Arthur" but I may be wrong (I'm speaking from my fallible memory). Anyway, the idea sounded false. Dominic West, Ulrich Thomsen and Imogen Poots also did a good job but it was the sweeping performance of Olga Kurylenko who dominated the film. She played an extremely cruel and malicious Pictish woman who decided to dedicate her life to avenge herself on the Romans. This barbarian killing machine was an intense enemy and contrasts with the humanity of Poots character, a woman with a past of pain, but kind and of whom we instinctively like.The production vallues and technical issues also seemed very good to me. In contrary to the current trend, the film virtually waived the green screen and filmed on location, which is a plus point. Action sequences and fights are good, realistic enough and only harmed, as I said, by exaggeration in false blood. It reminded me of the movie "300", where I criticized the emphasis on blood. Of course a battle needs blood but we cannot go into exaggerations, by excess or by defect. I really enjoyed the cinematography. She was able to convey the feel of the period as well as the intense cold that was felt. The color tones were excellent and the contrast adequate. The only negative note is the movie soundtrack. It fulfills its role but ends up being forgettable.To summarize, this film is very good and considerably better than other films ("Braveheart", "King Arthur" etc.) in the same style, but that ended up becoming more famous and having greater visibility. Historically realistic, it doesn't depict any historical fact but a theory, under discussion, so don't fully believe in the story the film tells, remember this is not a documentary. Entertaining, is a good movie for those who enjoy history and the Roman period, or simply for those who enjoy a good adventure or action film.

I've seen this a couple of times and while it's not a bad little movie set during the Roman invasion of Britain the acting of both Micheal Fassbender and especially Olga Kurylenko elevate it to be better than the script allows it to be.The film itself is based on a real event that happened around the time the Romans were withdrawing from Britain to consolidate power back home and tells the story of the ninth legion which vanished. It's Fassbenders mission to locate them or the eagle. Kurylenko plays Etain and doesn't say a single word throughout the whole movie, thanks to a brutal torture inflicted by the Romans, instead her facial expressions have to convey everything she is feeling and she handles the role with amazing skill that I never thought she had.I give this 8/10, not for the storyline which is derivative and dull but simply for Fassbender and especially Kurylenko who shows what great acting is all about.

In 117 A.D., the Romans in Britania is stretched to the limit by the Picts in the north. After 20 years of stalemate, the Romans aim to finish the resistance. Centurion Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender) is half naked running in the snow. The movie moves back two weeks to see Dias and his garrison outpost under attack. He is captured and taken to the Pict leader Gorlacon. General Titus Flavius Virilus (Dominic West) in York is ordered to destroy the Picts with his men. He is given mute Pict scout Etain (Olga Kurylenko) to guide him.This is a straight forward bloody violent sword and sandal war movie. The actors are solid led by West and Fassbender. It doesn't have many big story elements. The action is brutal and chaotic. The mood is dark and brood. I also love tracking in the wilderness. I like the cat-and-mouse game of the escape.

When I first heard about CENTURION, I was excited: I'm a big fan of director Neil Marshall (yes, even his much-lamented DOOMSDAY) and I absolutely adore historical romps, so this was a match made in heaven. When I finally sat down to watch the Blu-ray of this film, I wasn't disappointed. CENTURION is a lean, pared-down adventure romp made on a low budget and with a plot that's simplistic in the extreme: a squad of Roman soldiers are cut off behind enemy lines and have to find their way to safety. It's nothing new; this kind of story has been done in multiple settings and with multiple variants on the theme (SOUTHERN COMFORT, in which a gang of US soldiers are pursued by bloodthirsty Cajuns, is a favourite), but the reason it's so popular is that it's easy to get right. Marshall gets it spot on.My main beef with the film is that it's too short, focusing on action over plotting. I would have liked another half hour of dialogue and plot. However, like the recent RAMBO, the extra-short running time works in its favour, never giving the viewer time to get bored or dwell upon the various shortcomings in the characterisation and atmosphere. A bunch of interesting actors are cast in this one, and for the most part they do well; Michael Fassbender is an able, everyman hero, and Dominic West great as the shouty, sweaty, hard-drinking general. Marshall did well to cast character actors like David Morrissey and Liam Cunningham as the likable old-timers of the group, while Noel Clarke is underutilised as another. For the females, the beautiful Olga Kurylenko is well characterised and pretty terrifying as the vengeful Pictish warrior chasing our heroes, and Imogen Poots has a brief but important role as an ethereal outcast.The emphasis here is very much on the action, and there's plenty of it to go round. The initial attack on the 9th legion is expertly staged and full of intense, bloody conflict a la BRAVEHEART. The subsequent bouts are on a much smaller scale, but still vicious and shocking, with decapitation a favoured method of execution for the bloodthirsty Picts. A fight between West and Kurylenko is a stand out moment, as is the final showdown between the whittled-down survivors and their pursuers. My only complaint with the action is the over-reliance on CGI blood, but then you can't have everything. For me, CENTURION is a keeper and a film I'll look forward to revisiting.