Centurion

Up to now, writer-director Neil Marshall has specialized in horror movies (Dog Soldiers, The Descent), but here, he imagines and communicates a remote world with terrific energy and a passion for detail.

"Doomsday," horror-trained British helmer Neil Marshall flexes strong action muscles and carves copious flesh here, creating the sort of broadsword-based bedlam that will thrill fans of ancient martial movies.

The real message: Life's ultimate pleasure lies in extreme fighting - to the death.

If I believed in the concept of "guilty pleasures," I'd classify "Centurion" as one, but I think I maybe just kind of enjoyed it.

A gritty, brutal chase movie that's more about swords (and spears, and axes) than sandals - although it could have done with a lot more character-meat on those bones.

Even if the movie had more shadings, though, Marshall's political point would undo his he-man action-flick format. If you're looking for a rallying cry to make the emotions sizzle, "Quagmire!" isn't it.

To say that Marshall's technique is so low-brow it may as well be a moustache is being kind--at best this is the sort of lazy, ambitionless hackery that can lead both filmmakers and audiences to write off a genre for dead--or at least until a more skilled storyteller is able to do it right.

So so. The script doesn't develop the characters beyond archetypes and it's all a bit flat by the end. Just to point out to bradleybossard, without seeming pedantic hopefully, the action of the film doesn't take place in the 'highlands of northern England', but, of course, the highlands of northern Scotland.

Neil Marshall seems an odd choice for this type of movie . An established horror director isn't the first person you'd think of when choosing a director to make a historical adventure featuring ancient Rome in their battle to tame the Picts . That said he knows Scotland very well since his previous films DOG SOLDIERS and DOOMSDAY were both set there even if they were filmed in Luxumberg and South Africa respectively . At least the Scotland here resembles the gloomy bleak landscape seen in Winter From the outset Marshall shows his genre roots by making CENTURION as violent as possible . I saw this on the same day as I saw the last RAMBO movie and there's not a world of difference between the two movies where violence is concerned , people are decapitated and disemboweled and rivers run red with blood . If there's a problem it's as in his other films Marshall shows a slight problem with pacing . When characters sit down and talk you find yourself hoping for a bit more character interaction but this rug is pulled from under the audiences feet and we're back to a bloody set-piece regardless if it's needed or not . I had hoped for a little bit more conversation and a little bit less action please . If someone makes a bio-pic on Elvis then Neil Marshall will not be that director. That said films such as THE NAKED PREY and APOCALYPTO don't have much in the way of conversation either I'll say one thing in favour of the director and that is he's able to make a film where the British Isles have been invaded and the modern day British audience are still able to empathise with the invaders to an extent . Neither side is painted in black and white and the Romans are helped by the fact that they're played by a likable cast . One possibly might suggest that there's a subtext on Afghanistan going on here somewhere . By this I mean an all conquering super power finding itself unable to decisively beat an indigenous population . In fact the infamous line about Afghanistan being " The grave yard of empires " is almost spoken in relation to the Picts And that's perhaps the underlying fundamental problem with CENTURION . It's a film that could be somewhat more cerebral and character driven but has sacrificed this in order to be a violent historical action adventure that doesn't let up . It's a good film but perhaps should have been an even better one regardless of the budget

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

De bons acteurs fort sympathiques ici avec le solide Fassbender et le plus rare mais très convaincant West mais aussi et surtout bien sûr Olga chérie toujours aussi jolie, bien maquillée et fardée à la barbare avec ses peintures de guerre (bleues...) comme dans... euh Braveheart. Sauf que là c'est l'Empire... non l'Empire Romain SPQR, pas Star Varzes bordel de merde ! Bon évidemment, des guerrières enragées chez Les "Pictes"... euh... vraiment ? et un légionnaire noir dans la 9ème Légion ? t'es sûr ? en Britannia ? et un Arabe aussi avec. Ah bon ? enfin bon, Hollywood et le révisionnisme historique gauchiste, rien de très étonnant non plus. De toute façon, les Romains sont présentés comme des vilains pas très "gentils" et le fameux centurion comme un Romain à l'insu de son plein gré finalement. En tout cas, il y a des moyens et de la violence assez plaisante ici et une mise en scène tout-à-fait convenable... sauf dans les combats qui font une grande partie du film quand même... du coup, les combats sont à chier, zoomés, mal cadrés, surdécoupés, agités, bougés, tremblés... bref, à chier. Le scénar est dans l'ensemble un brin bizarre puisque que nos survivants se retrouvent traqués par la "sorcière" Olga très énervée mais muette comme une tombe... mais bon, on ne s'ennuie pas à suivre ces péripéties même si on est toujours au bord de s'énerver devant un tel tissu d'invraisemblances invraisemblables avec jusqu'à la fin encore des Romains méchants et corrompus... sauf notre centurion bien sûr, toujours romain à l'insu de son plein gré. Mais bon, donc, c'est pas bon tout ça... et on se tournera vers l'Aigle de la 9ème Légion, le film tourné à la même période, beaucoup plus plaisant et convaincant.

awful. just awful. neil marshall is showing he really has absolutely no talent left after dog soldiers and the descent, i shouldn't really have to mention doomsday... but this movie is filled with cgi blood, pretentious acting and dialogue, horrible editing, and some really stupid PC stuff that was unnecessary and weren't realistic in the realm of the story. garbage. avoid.