Centurion

Centurion

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunningham, David Morrissey, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko

Directed by: Neil Marshall

Reviewed by: Conor Flynn







In a way I feel kind of sorry for director Neil Marshall. Not only has he to contend with a rival film (Kevin Mc Donald’s ‘The Eagle of the Ninth’) which is loosely based on a similar subject to Centurion (something which happened before with his film ‘The Descent’ and its rival ‘The Cave’), but he has also had to battle studio interference. It is reported that Centurion went through numerous cuts until the directors personal cut eventually won out. So, after a slew of headaches, is Neil Marshall’s latest film any good?

The story is based on the Roman myth of the ninth legion which travelled to the North of Scotland only to vanish without a trace. In this film the legion is attacked by the Pict with only a few Romans remaining. During this battle, their General (West) is captured, which leads to a rescue attempt lead by Quintus Dias (Fassbender). Soon the rescue attempt fails and Quintus finds his group pray to the Pict, lead by the vengeful Etain (Kurylenko).

Neil Marshall abandons the hyper stylisation he employed to mediocre success on his last film ‘Doomsday’ in favour of down and dirty grit for his latest feature. Though Centurion may at first seem like a recap of ‘Doomsday,’ in ways the film is more of a throw back to the directors enjoyable debut feature ‘Dog Soldiers;’ with a band of soldiers fending off a superior ferial force. Thankfully, unlike ‘Doomsday,’ there is a lot less pilfering of better films going on, that said, the grimy visuals certainly owe a lot to the opening sequence to the film ‘Gladiator’. Centurion can be compared to survivalist films such as ‘First Blood’ though no where near on par.

Sadly the cast is wasted amongst the action, which is a shame considering the long list of reliable British and Irish actors included. Michael Fassbender looks lean and mean for the part, but bar a few scenes of banal love interest for Quintus, Fassbender isn’t given much to do character wise. Dominic West manages to supply the film with some weight despite his early departure. Unfortunately the talents of Liam Cunningham, David Morrissey, Riz Ahmed, J. J. Field and Noel Clarke are given little to do. The only actor to have anything to play with is Olga Kurylenko who excels with primal ferocity as Etain.

Centurion is passable entertainment. No doubt you’ll have seen it done before and better in other films, which makes this a fine, if forgettable distraction.