Centurion (DVD)

(film-only review)

Britain, 117AD: the Roman invasion of the country remains stalled when it comes to the far north, what will eventually be Scotland (yay!). The native Picts aren't happy about the intruders, obviously, but rather than pitch an all-out battle - something that would play to the Roman strengths - they hold off the interlopers with swooping, hit'n'run attacks.

One successful raid on a Roman frontier fort (not as sturdy in the film as my history lessons would have had, but far more realistic!) leaves Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender - 300, Inglorious Basterds) the only survivor. Dragged off to a Pict camp to be used as an example, he manages not only to escape, but to run into the legendary Ninth Legion, sent by the local Governor to finally wipe out the pesky Picts.

Led by the much-loved General Virilus (Domenic West - The Wire, 300), the Ninth are held as Rome's best. Slightly embarrassing, then, when they fall into an ambush, get slaughtered and see their general carted off as a prisoner. Can the surviving few mount a rescue mission, beat of the brutal natives, and make it back alive?

All of that is told as a rather superficial opening - or rather, what I suspect is meant to be a brief-ish beginning before getting into the meat of the story. Here we meet the brave Quintus, then the beloved, just-one-of-the-men Virilus (although I did think the men were chanting 'fearless' to begin with), before a quick sweep of some of the legion; just enough to stir some pity when they get their bottoms whooped, of course. And now - now we can settle into the deeper part of the film?

Alas, this somewhat dense-if-shallow start rather shows up the rest of the movie, which is a real shame as it's not that bad - just, mis-paced, in my opinion. There are some cracking action scenes, but as the rest of the movie is basically one long long-distance run - albeit across some stunning Scottish scenery - it does feel a bit... empty.

As far as the characters go, only Quintus Dias is really fleshed out - well, he gets the voiceover, for a start, which is... hmm. I'm not fond of voiceovers in movies, ever, although at least this one was reasonable well-scripted, at least for drollness. It is perhaps unfortunate that this outsider is the lead character, as it means the 'marvellous Ninth' becomes a mix of cannon-fodder and stereotypes: y'know, the good guys, the loyal-to-the-death ones, and the downright nasty (ahem) 'basterd' lurking behind a winning smile. The scenes to show them as people rather than just bits of the set are well handled, but still clunky in their insertion - necessary, but obvious.

On the other side we have the wild, sometimes blue-faced Picts. The film is slightly confused about whose side we're meant to be on: the Romans are the unwelcome, war-making invaders, after all, and you can't blame the ancient Scots for being a bit peeved about it all. However, it is the Picts who are shown poorly, turning more barbaric and eventually being denounced by some of their own countrymen - until we meet some of the ruling classes of Romans, and they too are worthy of much scorn. So: neither side is good, but the soldiers are definitely the heroes, right? Urm, some of them, anyway!

The real star of the piece has to be the amazing scenery, although the weather is simply vile! Fog, rain, and plenty of snow - honestly, Scotland does get some nice days!! The elements become one more battle in the long run home, and as I said: between the battles and skirmishes, there's a lot of scenery. Ahem. (of course, real life is rather like that, isn't it...??)

That said, there is something to be said for an elegant, stripped-down plot. One that doesn't resort to throwing in a random love interest, for instance... oh dear. I'll leave that whole thread for you, dear viewer! ;)

There's very little of substance to Centurion. The history lesson isn't to be taken seriously, although I did actually like the fact that both sides had good and bad, even if it was done rather bluntly - I do think a bit more depth on the Pict side would have balanced the piece out a little more. The characters just don't get enough time to do much, other than have perhaps one decent scene each - and thus highlighting the waste of an otherwise excellent cast which includes David Morrissey (The 'Next Doctor' in Dr Who), Noel Clarke (also Dr Who, Kidulthood), and a strangely mute role for Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace). Lots of familiar faces, in other words, not a lot of interesting things for them to do.

While I didn't rate this film too highly, I rather suspect it is exactly what it set out to be: a home grown 'epic' done on a fraction of the budget of the likes of Gladiator, telling a simple and straightforward tale - and really, a great excuse for a lot of brutal fight scenes! This is a boy's movie, and doesn't pretend to be much else. Fans of writer/director Neil Marshall's other work - Dog Soldiers, Doomsday, The Decent - should more than recognise and appreciate the boy's-own Brit style here, simply moved to yet another genre.

Overall then, a middling sort of movie, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt (ie 3 instead of 2 stars) as I think it sits pretty well in its own niche.


~Boring bits:~
*Running time: 97 minutes
*Rating: 15
*Theatrical release: 23rd April 2010
*DVD release: 16th August 2010

Full cast details can be found on imdb.co.uk