Centurion Reviews 3

http://mzzzgie.blogspot.com/2010/09/centurions-review.html

Thursday, September 09, 2010
Centurion's Review

Well today is somehow a public holiday in Indonesia but everyday is a holiday for me anyway! So today, I went out to catch up with friends and watched new movie. We were stuck between on watching Avatar (3D), Public Enemy Number One and Vampire Sucks. Guess what? We ended up none in choosing those movies; instead we chose this war movie called Centurion.

The story is about Roman soldiers under a name of the 9th Legion who were on mission but got betrayed by their tracker (Etain).who apparently was their enemy, The Picts. They were brutally killed by the picts and from 3,000 soldiers only left with 6 and also their General who was captured by the Picts. So the 6 brave roman soldiers were on mission to rescue their general and go back to their country.

Unfortunately, they couldn't saved their general and instead one of their soldiers purposely killed the Pictc's leader only son. And now, The Pict seeks for revenged, hunting and killing the remaining 6 soldiers by using their most famous mute tracker, Etain.

Honestly, I've an expectation that this movie would be somehow like one of my favorite movies, 300! At least, I'm seeking for those kind of thrills which I found it in this movie. I love the brutality (killing scenes) although I prefer they could made it slower but of course 300 is much better.

Great Actions I must admitted, strong storyline (it'll keep you awake throughout the whole hour) with such a disappointment ending. Good acting too and personally, it's worth to spend your money on watching it. BUT If you are so girly and can't stand of bloody scenes nor bother to watch people get chopped off then Don't Bother!

Despite of their bad ending which totally such a disappointment for me, I rank this movie 7.5/10. It's good ones but compared to 300, This one is just the simple version of 300! Somehow, seeing this movie, the single warrior fight for his life reminding me so much of 300. Not bad, not bad! Good enough but not the best!

posted by Mz.g!e at 9/09/2010 10:02:00 PM

http://www.bonciz.com/colossal-films-peek-centurion/

Colossal Films peek Centurion
September 9th, 2010
By admin Posted

When we look at the trailers and posters spread by some film crew from Centurion, we feel this is a film background colossal Roman times. Films Directed by Neil Marshall’s film tells the battle the Romans with a group of people calling themselves Picts nation.

Nations that put Gorlacon as supreme commander and harbored hatred for the Romans. Legion 9, the Roman army led by Gen. Virilus, ordered Governor Julius Agricola invaded the headquarters Gorlacon Picts to catch him alive. The Governor brought Etain, mute girl but an expert spy, to accompany the General Titus Flavius Virilus. Along the way, the troops had rescued a 9 Legion of Rome who escaped from the hostage Picts. He named Centurion Quintus Dias. Apparently, catastrophe toward Rome. General Virilus and troops into the trap of Picts, until the inevitable battle. Legion 9 only the remaining seven persons, including the Centurion, and the general Picts nation hostage.

Centurion to take over the leadership and led troops to liberate Mini 9 Legion General Virilus. Undo succeed, they become fugitives nation Picts, after Gorlacon son was accidentally killed. Etain, ya dumb girl was apparently a Picts. He was the one who led the hunt Centurion et al. Etain smoldering grudge because his parents finished off the Romans. His tongue also became a victim until he could not talk.

In an attempt to return to Rome, Centurion troops eliminated one by one because it kept being followed Etain cs. They finally met a girl who was exiled Picts own people and branded as witches. Not unexpectedly, ‘the witch’ is to give help and rescue them from the pursuit of Etain. Is the story just got here? Of course not! Centurion turned into prey of the King, who was reluctant to bear the embarrassment caused by the defeat of Legion troops 9.

http://99x.co/blog/2010/09/03/centurion/

http://www.99x.com/Blogs/JonLamoreauxsMovieBlog/tabid/637/EntryId/6237/Centurion.aspx


Centurion
Sep 3

Written by: Jon Lamoreaux
9/3/2010 10:23 AM

Olga Kurylenko is probably one of the best elements of Centurion, a blood-drenched Roman Empire tale about soldiers and former gladiators in 117 AD up against their most advanced enemies, the Brits, Scots, and Irish. And let’s just say it’s no Roman holiday. But Kurylenko who befriended Mark Wahlberg in Max Payne (2008) and bonded with Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace (2008) plays a barbarian witch-like, wolf-like temptress who can go fist to fist with the best Rome has to offer, and do so without messing up her hair. If you’ve seen her in Payne or Solace and see her here you might be surprised to see her so athletic and evil compared to other more demure roles she’s had. As an antagonist, she beats the pants off of anything threatening Inception has to offer. Centurion has some nice surprises some of which are poetic in scope and composition as far as how director Neil Marshall (The Descent (2006)) fills many of the film’s frames with forethought into image design. Helicopter mounted cameras filming soldiers high above as they cross rivers and mountain tops adds a certain graphic majesty to the film that helps make up for other, more faulty areas of storytelling and plot. Regardless, it’s still better than most of the films out there and might be worth a look if you can find it at a local theater. If not, keep it in mind when next you want an adventure film the likes of The 13th Warrior (1999) or Excalibur (1981). As for Kurylenko, if she picks the right scripts we could see her winning a Globe or its equivalent sometime soon.


The Story: Lately, Neil Marshall seems to have something for strong female heroines as the protagonists. Both in The Descent and Doomsday (2008) he had the woman saving the day. Some could say Kurylenko’s warrior, named Etain, is a hero to her clan. Etain is part of a Pict group of warriors in Centurion, mostly British, Irish and Scottish who fight the Romans for twenty odd years before finally driving them out of their territory. Their guerrilla style of ambush and butchery fighting tactics seemingly too much for the mighty Romans. In the midst of these battles, a band of Roman brothers survive and first try to save their general, Titus Virilus played by Domnic West (Kirk Cuddy, guitar player in Rock Star (2001), also in 300 (2006) and 28 Days (2000)) and then try to save themselves by getting to the nearest Roman outpost.


The Goods: It’s this kind of dichotomy of script that is simple to follow and reminds me of Robert Redford’s kind of endless quest for answers in Jeremiah Johnson (1972). General Virilus is the kind of “reckless, ruthless bastard” a Roman soldier says he’ll “fight alongside without hesitation” for which gets us into the thick of Centurion’s plot. And when words like those above fill the script by Marshall whose writing, like directing, shows extreme promise—some of the best dialogue for action films this side of James Cameron—it’s easy to think this film is better than it is. It actually gets poetic at times, going for aesthetics with voice-over from our main storyteller, Centurion Quitus Dias played by Michael Fassbender (Lt. Archie Hicox in Inglourious Basterds (2009), Stelios in 300) who gives us metaphoric gems like, “they pick at the scab until we bleed,” and “they sew the Earth with our dead.” The words come out of his mouth with a poet’s rhythm and syncopation too that make it sound like something out of a Greek tragedy. This and the light-through-the-fog and single light, flames-from-the-fire kind of contrasty lighting scheme we get from cinematographer Sam McCurdy (Dog Soldiers (2002), The Descent) bring the goods in this film honor.


The Flaws: But the Romans can only run for so long before Kurylenko’s Etain finds them. Like the super posse from Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969), Etain and her Pict hunters drive the second half of our film with a pursuit that seems to last as long as the Roman-Pict war lasted. And when we sense that our just-rewards are upon us, mostly for sitting through a fairly adventurous journey, one that with a good ending could make the film a success, it ends up being ever so slightly anticlimactic as our expectations have been set high. A little more “final battle” and this film would not only lose its last fifteen or twenty minutes of unnecessary political commentary but would give us the kind of crescendo we might be looking for. I don’t want to whittle-down the director’s art by giving it a Hollywood ending, but the first part of the film does nothing more than suggest it’s attempting to deliver the gore and guts of something like a Braveheart (1995), Gladiator (2000), or 300 which if nothing else are pure Hollywood films, meaning they’re built for entertaining large masses as opposed to appealing to a hand full of critics. Centurion’s fix then is a simple edit job and if done properly could have art meeting the mass market.


The Call: As good as Kurylenko and Fassbender are though they can’t save the Romans, nor this picture’s running time and sloppy ending. I say stow the dough and see it later. The discount dollar theater might be a good start since seeing it on a big screen with a tub of popcorn and soda might help round out the adventure. But waiting until the weather gets cool or when winter can’t look any more bleak, Centurion might be the bloody ticket.


Rated R for sequences of strong bloody violence, grisly images and language. Running time is 97 minutes but feels like bloody three hours. Speaking of blood, it flows in Centurion about as much as the oil did in the gulf. I’d say somewhere in that era the war with the Picts was the Romans’ equivalent of a spill. And not even the huge quantity of severed heads in Centurion could plug that hole.

http://houseinrlyeh.blogspot.com/2010/09/on-wtf-centurion-2010.html

Friday, September 3, 2010
On WTF: Centurion (2010)

My weekly write-up on WTF-Film concerns Neil Marshall's Centurion this week, and not surprisingly, I kinda loved it despite all of its flaws.

I am a sucker for historical pulp adventure, after all.

http://www.movieshown.com/centurion-2010-hollywood-movie-cast-story-review.htm

Centurion 2010 Hollywood Movie Cast, Story, Review
Posted by admin
Sep 02 2010

” Centurion (2010) ” English Hollywood Film Released on 27 Aug 2010, 2010

Centurion (2010) Action – Thriller movie story Hollywood movie Online movie trailer Centurion (2010) Action – Thriller Movie review English movie Online

Centurion (2010)Plot Summary

AD 117. The Roman Empire stretches from Egypt to Spain, and East as far as the Black Sea. But in northern Britain, the relentless onslaught of conquest has ground to a halt in face of the guerrilla tactics of an elusive enemy: the savage and terrifying Picts. Quintus Dias (Fassbender), sole survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, marches north with General Virilus’ (West) legendary Ninth Legion, under orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the earth and destroy their leader Gorlacon. But when the legion is ambushed on unfamiliar ground, and Virilus taken captive, Quintus faces a desperate struggle to keep his small platoon alive behind enemy lines. Enduring the harsh terrain and evading their remorseless Pict pursuers led by revenge-hungry Pict Warrior Etain (Kurylenko), the band of soldiers race to rescue their General and to reach the safety of the Roman frontier.

Centurion (2010)Story

It is A.D. 117 and the Roman garrisons are struggling to contain the Picts, the Celtic inhabitants of the Scottish Highlands. The Picts under their king, Gorlacon, are perfecting guerilla warfare and are eliminating Roman outposts one by one. Centurion Quintus Dias is the only survivor of a Pictish raid and is taken prisoner. In the meantime, the Roman governor of Britannia wants to obtain favour with the central administration, hoping to secure a transfer back to the comforts of Rome. He dispatches the Ninth Legion to the front under General Titus Flavius Virilus, providing him with a mute female Brigantian scout, Etain.

Centurion (2010)SYNOPSIS

Centurion is a British film directed by Neil Marshall about the ill-fated Ninth Legion marching north to Caledonia to wipe out the Picts and their leader. Britain, A.D. 117. Quintus Dias, the sole survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, marches north with General Virilus’ legendary Ninth Legion, under orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the Earth and destroy their leader, Gorlacon.

AD 117. The Roman Empire stretches from Egypt to Spain, and East as far as the Black Sea. But in northern Britain, the relentless onslaught of conquest has ground to a halt in face of the guerrilla tactics of an elusive enemy: the savage and terrifying Picts.

Quintus Dias (Fassbender), sole survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, marches north with General Virilus’ (West) legendary Ninth Legion, under orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the earth and destroy their leader Gorlacon.

But when the legion is ambushed on unfamiliar ground, and Virilus taken captive, Quintus faces a desperate struggle to keep his small platoon alive behind enemy lines. Enduring the harsh terrain and evading their remorseless Pict pursuers led by revenge-hungry Pict Warrior Etain (Kurylenko), the band of soldiers race to rescue their General and to reach the safety of the Roman frontie

Centurion (2010) REVIEW

In general I have been pretty impressed by Neil Marshall’s movies. They play to what I see as his strengths as a director, small ensemble group of character actors battling with extreme circumstances (often violent), fast and furious action, satisfying conclusion. As I assess this movie there was every chance that he was going to do this again in a Roman vs Pict battle for survival story. Small band of soldiers, stuck behind ‘enemy lines’ racing to get back to safety. At first I wasn’t sure that the contemporary language and accents was going to work for me – I’ve no idea what Roman vernacular might have been but 21st Century Brit-speak takes a bit of a leap of faith. However as the action picked up and the plot unfolded I started to get into the fast pace of the whole thing and was really enjoying the ‘rush for the line pursued by uber tracker bitch with a sense for her prey’ storyline. Then what happens! Suddenly out of nowhere we have love interest – ‘vogueish’ not ‘pict-ish’and the previous set up goes out of the window. Said super hunter inexplicably can’t find Romans when they are virtually sitting in her lap. The pace completely slackens off and the edginess that was build up before is gone. What was Marshall thinking of? Of course I blame the production company or distributors or some such ninnies who I assume said to good ol’ Neil, “Bigger production, bigger budget than you’re used to….must have a love story to get a decent return on our investment.” That, or, NM just out of his comfort genre. Who knows but a lost opportunity this time round.

Cast and CREW:

Director: Neil Marshall
Screenwriter: Neil Marshall
Producers: Christian Colson, Robert Jones
Release Date: 27 Aug 2010, 2010 (limited)
Genre: Action – Thriller

CAST:

Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, Noel Clarke, David Morrissey, JJ Feild, Axelle Carolyn, Riz Ahmed, Dave Legeno, Ulrich Thomsen, James Currie, Hamish Moir.

Centurion (2010) Trailer

http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2010/09/review_gory_centurion_is_a_gui.html

Review: Gory 'Centurion' is a guilty pleasure, hold the guilt
Published: Thursday, September 09, 2010, 3:00 PM

Writer/director Neil Marshall is a gore-hound who loves to sample the sci-fi, action and horror classics that clearly turn his crank. He's pretty shameless about the sampling, but he's also fairly good at it: When he's firing on all cylinders (as he was with 2005's "The Descent"), his movies have a confident, glandular, lizard-brain B-movie kick and stronger-than-strictly-necessary performances.

But Marshall's "Dog Soldiers" and "The Descent" owe more than a little to "Aliens." "Doomsday" gleefully plunders from "Mad Max" and "Escape From New York." And his latest -- the vaguely historical action-survival flick "Centurion" -- may contain more "Lord of the Rings"-style helicopter shots than Peter Jackson's entire trilogy. (It also starts with that totally played-out wailing-woman music from "Gladiator.")

Still, Marshall is having enough fun smashing the skulls of talented actors while knocking off every men-on-a-mission and survival flick ever made (from "The Naked Prey" to "Apocalypto") that I enjoyed it as a solid beer-theater watch. And because the film is opening at Portland's Living Room Theaters, which happens to serve beer, it all works out rather well.

"Centurion" is the second of Marshall's films (after "Doomsday") to incorporate Hadrian's Wall; the new film luridly speculates on the fate of the Roman Ninth Legion, which may or may not have fallen to the Picts in Britain around A.D. 117. It's essentially a chase picture in which a handful of Roman soldiers (played by the likes of Michael Fassbender) try to rescue their captured general (Dominic West) and avoid getting picked off by a hunting party of Celtic guerillas led by a mute warrior princess (Olga Kurylenko).

The movie probably starts better than it ends -- the early ambush of the Ninth Legion is a grisly set piece that makes "Braveheart" look like "Sesame Street," and Marshall never tops it. Things bog down briefly when the movie tries to introduce a love interest in the form of a bland outcast herbalist (Imogen Poots). There's also the small matter of everyone speaking in clichés.

But the movie mostly moves at speed, and it's awesomely, needlessly, hilariously gory -- Mr. Marshall never, ever sticks a blade in someone without cutting to a close-up of it popping out the other side or showing you exactly where the lopped-off head landed, and the earnest cast somehow sells it as drama. 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.

(97 min., R, Living Room Theaters) Grade: B-

-- Mike Russell

http://bighollywood.breitbart.com/dmiller/2010/09/10/centurion-review-excessive-violence-weak-characters-undermine-impressive-production/

‘Centurion’ Review: Excessive Violence, Weak Characters Undermine Impressive Production
by Darin Miller

There’s a special place in my heart for period pieces involving excessive swordplay. There’s a natural romance to films where men write sonnets with swords, debating with the edge of a blade.

But such films can quickly slip down the bloody slope of excessive gore, as slicing becomes dicing and bloody forays overwhelm the storyline. “Centurion,” now in theatres and available on demand in the U.S., wades knee-deep through the valley of pointlessly disgusting detail, as less a sonnet and more an overload of cluttered synonyms that weigh down the poetry of what could be a good movie.

“Centurion” chronicles writer/director Neil Marshall’s theory behind the mystery of Rome’s lost Ninth Legion. In a final attempt to conquer Britain, the rugged Ninth marches into the heart of enemy territory to find the violent Pict tribe and destroy it. With Pict turncoat Etain (Olga Kurylenko) leading the way, the army falls into a trap and all but seven are slaughtered. After failing to rescue their captured general, the seven must fight their way back to Roman territory, even as the elements and the pursuing Picts target them one by one.

It is a gritty survival tale infusing elements of bloody horror and unsubstantiated humanity. To fly it needed less of the former and a basis for the latter.

The film’s cinematic style evolved over the course of the film. Initially Marshall’s team filmed battles with nice slower pans, showing a Roman fortress fall. But by the end, a series of half-second quick-cuts rendered the final skirmish unwatchable.

The violence did not evolve however. It is the gratuitous quality of the violence, not the quantity, that easily earns the film’s R-rating. At one point a Roman plunges an arrow into an enemy’s eye, and then wiggles it around to do the most damage. The fact that the Roman served as moderate comic relief throughout and the Pict is a savage doesn’t detract from the scene’s excessive nature, or that the Pict is a woman. Violence is easier digested when men slay men, but the violence involving women leaves me queasy, especially in scenarios like this.

The film boasts strong acting, and a decent script that avoids excess dialogue, but the film lacks the emotional depth necessary to give the audience relatable characters. The Romans are portrayed as a brutal conquering army, making the protagonist, Centurion Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender), and his band of Roman brothers, a less than lovable crew. With minimal time spent developing them into likable warriors, it begs the question: Who do we root for?

The dialogue is snappy, especially in group scenes where the actors play well off each other, but the delicate scenes are cliché. Quintus falls for a banished Pict beauty and carves her a wooden horse before he leaves to thank her for her kindness. But his talent, and the horse imagery, weren’t established beforehand, so the scene appears to be stolen from “Troy,” much like the Pict surprise attack. It’s details like this that Marshall should have obsessed over and established, which could flavor the story, rather than ones that simply disgust the viewer, like a soldier smashing a tick as he runs, or Romans eating half-digested moss from the stomach of a dead deer. Interesting elements, but they don’t further the story.

Modern swearwords pilfer the Romans’ vocabulary as well, jarring instead of coloring, and eroding the authenticity of the dialogue. This is unfortunate, because to his credit, Marshall and his team created a very authentic atmosphere otherwise, from the wooden palisade fortresses of the Romans to the sod housing and blue war paint of the Picts, which draw viewers into the unforgiving world of the northern Roman campaign.

They may seem nitpicky, but such elements add up, and together they detract from what otherwise should have been an A-movie, with a strong cast and a unique twist on a survival plotline.

There’s a section in the production notes dedicated to the politics of the film. Since this film is all about a trained occupying force fighting a guerrilla army, there’s no way it can avoid at least some commentary on today’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Of the Picts Marshall said, “I’m not playing the Picts as being cold-hearted villains. They are fully rounded people with good reason to want the Romans out of their country. Some of the atrocities that we indicate the Romans have committed against them totally justify their actions.”

In addition, Quintus is a character who becomes disillusioned with the Roman Empire’s drive to control everything: “He is someone who starts as a very pro-Roman patriotic kind of soldier, and ends up completely disillusioned with what his own country has done to him,” says producer Robert Jones.

In the end though, what stands out, intentionally or not, is that the Roman soldiers are most upset about the pointless massacre of their legion. When Rome abandons its northernmost fortresses, the remnants of the Ninth see their sacrifices as meaningless. Thus, to me, the film is less a commentary on why the U.S. shouldn’t be in Iraq or Afghanistan and more one on why we owe it to our troops in uniform to stick out these efforts until the mission is accomplished.

http://alyssarosenberg.blogspot.com/2010/09/to-arms.html

Friday, September 10, 2010
To Arms
I've meant to write about Centurion, which I saw on Labor Day, and about which my feelings have been shifting ever since, but it's been hard to crystallize my sense of it. I think the movie is undeniably a mess, poised somewhere between an epic of Roman folly and an exceedingly lean chase movie (though it leans much closer to the latter than the former), with some excellent acting and lovely cinematography.

The mess first. The movie is a story of Roman folly and misapprehension of a dangerous foe. The Ninth Legion is sent out to strike hard at the Picts by a civilian commander eager for the glory that will earn him retirement back to Italy. He entrusts the expedition to a tracker who betrays the legion and leads them into a massacre, except for a small contingent of men who set out to make their way back to the front lines. The problem is that the movie tries to pin the disappearance of the Ninth (which may not have happened in Britain at all, though the truth remains a matter of viable historical dispute) on a Roman elite conspiracy. But it doesn't engage at all with Roman politics. It doesn't engage at all with Pictish politics, except to have us assume that blue facepaint=struggles for freedom perhaps carried a bit too far. And we don't actually need any of these dynamics, we don't need anything other than the chase. So why the movie bothers with those dynamics, doing them perfunctorily and poorly, is beyond me.

All of that said, the acting is a marvel. Michael Fassbender is one of those actors I feel I was supposed to know about, but I never saw Hunger or Inglourious Basterds, the former because I never got around to it, the second because I don't like Tarantino very much (I know, I know, to each her own, especially when it comes to Holocaust movies, all right?). But he's just tremendous, from the moment he bursts on screen, running through the snow, his hands bound, his bare chest gashed, on a race for his life. He's tender and violent, sometimes even simultaneously. Even when he's given cliche material to work with, there's a tremendous range of humanity playing across his face. It helps that he's got good supporters, and supporting is the word: this is a movie dominated by a single man, despite the presence of Dominic West, rough and tumble and honorable. Liam Cunningham's quite good as one of the last men standing with Fassbender, as is Noel Clarke as a runner-turned-soldier, using his experience as Mickey Smith from Doctor Who to good effect as a newly-minted badass. And David Morrissey, my beloved David Morrissey, who I am so excited to watch in the Red Riding triology once I can carve out six hours for it, is terrific as one of the men on the run, wounded, hopeful, fighting for his life. With his shaved head, there's less of the soft man about him, even when he's injured. Olga Kurylenko is very good as a mute tracker and killer, too, even though we don't get to see her put inflection into her lines. Especially given how ponderous some of the dialogue is in the movie, she's almost freed up by her inability to speak.

And while lots of the writing and plotting are pedestrian, the film often looks great. The color's really saturated so the landscape's quite intense (and having spent time in Scotland, outside the cities, it remains quite a wild country—I once got off at the wrong station there and discovered later it was a good thing I had, since the station I had a ticket for had been abandoned), and colors like the woad on the Picts' faces pops a lot. The blood, and there is quite a lot of it (sensitive readers be warned, the movie was about at my violence threshold), is in relatively realistic earth tones, though. This is no comic book vision of death. Life's worth fighting for, and hard to hold on to.
Posted by Alyssa at 1:42 PM

http://thescorecardreview.com/review/film-reviews/2010/09/10/centurion/12988

Centurion

* September 10, 2010 6:59 am

Directed by: Neil Marshall
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, Axelle Carolyn
Running Time: 1 hr 37 mins
Rating: R
Release Date: September 10, 2010

PLOT: The Roman army has been battling against the Pictish army for years in Northern Britain. After a devastating attack, a small group of soldiers are all that survive of the Romans. Now they are behind enemy lines and must try to get back home.

WHO’S IT FOR? Do you like those Syfy made for TV movies? Either that, or have you ever wanted to hate the underdog? All others, steer clear.

EXPECTATIONS: A fellow critic saw this months ago at SXSW and remembers good things, but then again he was also under an influence. That’s all I knew.

SCORECARD (0-10)

ACTORS:

Michael Fassbender as Centurion Quintus Dias: Fassbender was brilliant as Lt. Archie Hicox in Inglourious Basterds. We know he can act. But if this is your first time watching him, you’ll think he’s a dime a dozen.
As a Roman solider who escapes the Picts, he’s your typical hero. He has heart, loyalty and the knack for not dying. We don’t know why he feels strongly about anything, accept that he does. It’s as though they simply said, “Insert main character here,” and moved on.
Score: 3

Dominic West as General Titus Flavius Virilus: He’s beloved as the General. Everyone talks about it. They can’t get enough of this guy. So, when the Picts get their hands on him, all the soldiers are sad, but the audience is the one who really loses here. Sure, West plays it over the top, but at least there is some energy (albeit campy) in his acting.
Score: 5

Olga Kurylenko as Etain: This is where I need to ask, did I miss the point? Etain is our villain who will stop at nothing to kill the remaining Roman soldiers. She’s the enemy (as shown in this movie). Here’s the thing … she’s got a great reason to be mad. Her parents will killed right in front of her. Her tongue was cut out, so she couldn’t tell the tale. Oh, she was also raped. Don’t you just hate her? No? Me neither. I wanted her to kill every Roman in site, and anyone who was willing to help the soldiers on their quest to get home. Also, it entered my head on multiple occasions, did they have this beautiful woman not speak because of the character, or her lack of acting chops? I don’t know the reason, but it had me thinking.
Score: 4

Axelle Carolyn as Aeron: If only every witch was as beautiful as this one. Quintus and the rest of his gang encounter Aeron about an hour into this film. The only thing I was thinking was, “My god, I can’t believe they are attempting to introduce the potential love interest this far along into the film.” It didn’t work at all. The Picts think she might be a witch and that’s why they leave her alone, but I wish they could have left this character alone as well (as in out of the movie).
Score: 3

TALKING: We are men, we fight and kill and care. It’s like every line of dialogue that wasn’t good enough to end up in Braveheart. “If you’ve come here looking for a fight, then you’ll get it.” There’s nothing new with this material, so you just end up waiting for the action. Also, perhaps the Romans could have had a couple conversations about how it seems the Picts have every right to want to fight.
Score: 3

SIGHTS: There is plenty of violence with heads, legs and arms flying off at a rapid pace. There’s no humor in the killing, it’s all supposed to be just like it was long ago. Except here’s the problem, every ounce of blood is CGI. That sort of thing works when there’s more special effects (Sin City) or it’s supposed to be insane (Kill Bill). Here, it just takes you away from any time frame around 117 A.D. There was only one battle that proved interesting. The Picts used some huge rolling fire balls to start an attack.
Score: 4

SOUNDS: Clang, clang, clang goes the swords. The musical score doesn’t do anything for the emotional level of the audience. It’s like most of the rest of this movie, forgettable.
Score: 4

PLOT SPOILERS

BEST SCENE: I’m going with the fire balls. It’s an easy answer with an action movie that didn’t conquer any new ground.

ENDING: Am I supposed to care who lived and who died? Am I supposed to care that anyone gets a happily ever after? If so, then the ending failed.

QUESTIONS: Why are we following the Romans in this story? Also, couldn’t any of the armies just used more archers? If they would have, I think about half of the battles would have resulted in a different outcome.

REWATCHABILITY: No. I’m done with this Roman army.

OVERALL

Centurion is a cat and mouse game. The mouse has been raped, almost all of its friends have been killed, and its little mouse home has been burned to the ground. Do you know who did this? It’s the cat. Now here’s where Centurion makes one of its many mistakes … we (the audience) is stuck on the side of the cat. That’s right, we’re supposed to root for the cat in this mess. The Picts are trying to defend their way of life. The Romans are trying to crush them and take over the world. Don’t we want the Picts to win here? Don’t we want someone who has their tongue removed to get her revenge? Well, not in this movie. We’re supposed to feel sorry for the poor Roman army. Can’t they ever catch a break and simply kill everyone who doesn’t want to be ruled by them?

The opening credits come flying at you like this is just another 3D movie. But Centurion doesn’t have 3D or anything new to offer its audience.

FINAL SCORE: 3/10

http://dannybaram.blogspot.com/2010/09/centurion-review-centurion-like-many-of.html

Thursday, September 09, 2010
Raise Your Sword for CENTURION - Neil Marshall's latest - reviewed!
CENTURION Review:

- Centurion, like many of Neil Marshall's movies, may be something of an acquired taste. Some might not really dig this one, but for me, it really clicked. I loved the look of the movie, the characters, the action. I loved that it felt like an ancient Rome version of some old EC comic book - a dark, violent, tale of survival and cruel twists of fate. Centurion has over the top violence, larger than life, comic book-like characters, and a Roman empire setting that's somewhere between Gladiator and 300 in terms of historical accuracy vs. stylized fantasy. If you only accept historical fiction in the form of sweeping, epic drama, then this might not be the film for you. Centurion is more that cool little side story on the fringes of a much grander backdrop. It's down n' dirty, bloody, pulpy. In fact, pulp might be the best word for this. It's Roman legion pulp fiction. And if that is your bag, you're bound to like Centurion.

Just to back up for a second, I know some of you are probably wondering what this CENTURION movie is. Well, it's the latest from writer / director Neil Marshall, whose past credits include subterranean horror flick The Descent, and 80's action homage Doomsday. After the promise and acclaim of The Descent, Marshall likely had his pick of high profile projects. But rather than do what's easy, Marshall has chosen to make less commercial genre films that show off a unique sensibility and style. To me, that's made him one of the most interesting guys in movies, but it's also made him something of a divisive figure. I mean, I loved DOOMSDAY, for example. I thought it was a kickass, balls to the wall action movie that felt like the second coming of John Carpenter (and it was, pretty clearly, a tribute to the old Carpenter movies like Escape From New York). Some hated the movie, though, and wrote it off as just another mindless actionfest. Still, a bit of a cult formed around it and a lot of people were excited for Marshall's next movie - Centurion - myself included. For whatever reason though, the movie never got a big US distribution deal, and was relegated to a limited theatrical release - although it's also currently viewable on VOD and digital platforms like XBOX Live and Playstation. In any case, Centurion is another kickass film from Marshall and, once again, I'm left eagerly awaiting whatever he comes up with next.

Centurion takes place in Britain, circa 117 A.D. The Roman army, in its neverending quest to expand the empire, has been having trouble with a particularly savage tribe known as the Pict. When the legendary Ninth Legion - led by the charismatic General Virilus' (played by Dominic West) descends on Pict land, the legion is ambushed and mostly slaughtered. Centurion follows the only seven Roman soldiers to survive the battle. On the run from the unrelenting Pict warriors, the survivors, led by the resourceful Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender) must avoid death by sword, by beast, by cold, by starvation, and by treachery. The hunters, as they say, have become the hunted.

Like Doomsday before it, Centurion just seems to press all the right buttons. It's got a simple but effective story, intriguing and iconic characters brought to life by some great actors, and some truly riveting and shocking action scenes. Plus, the sense of tension, of foreboding, is everpresent. It's the kind of dark tale that draws you in and doesn't let go. The grim narration of Quintus frames the story, giving it that extra-pulpy feel. Meanwhile, sweeping shots of the British highlands are intercut with swift, kinetic, and gory action, creating a potent mix of scenic landscapes and bone-crunching violence.

It helps that the cast is more than up to the task of drawing us headlong into this atmospheric world. First and foremost, Michael Fassbender is just plain badass in the lead role of Quintus. He has a quiet intensity that makes his character easy to root for and empathize with. I hadn't had a lot of previous exposure to Fassbender, but he just seems like one of those great, sort of underrated actors who is very believable as a period action hero. Centurion is a showcase for Fassbender's very obvious talent. Dominic West is another standout. He is a lot of fun as the revered general of the Ninth Legion. Again, totally badass and definitely a scene-stealer. The rest of the cast is generally very good to excellent, and I really liked the team dynamic of Quintus band of Roman brothers. We aren't given a ton of information about each soldier, but we know just enough to feel invested in each. That said, the other real breakout star of the film is Olga Kurylenko as Etain, a Pict huntress who is completely consumed with wreaking unholy vengeance on any and all Romans, who long ago, among other horrific deeds, killer her family and slashed her tongue, leaving her mute. Kurylenko doesn't speak in the movie, but her eyes burn with ferocious intensity, and her character, adorned in war paint, is stunning but also pretty damn scary. Etain is just a great, iconic character, and sure to be a fanboy favorite for a long time to come.

Centurion does have a couple of moments that walk the line between over-the-top and just plain hokey, and it takes a while to really build up some good momentum and get the story rolling. The initial jumps between Fassbender and West are a bit confusing at first, as their characters look a bit too similar (in fact, several main character in the movie are similar-looking, making things a bit more hard to follow than they should be). However, once the movie turns its focus to Quintus and his small band of legionaires on the run, it really picks up steam. It's at that point that we get a better sense for what sort of movie it is that we're watching. Although the opening scenes hint at some sort of epic war movie, Centurion is in fact a much smaller-scale parable about a soldier who finds himself without an army, without a country, without a king. This soldier, hunted by unrelenting forces, has nothing let except his will to survive.

I would definitely recommend giving Centurion a look. It's dark, grim, and violent ... it's unquestionably badass as hell. Not for everyone, I get that. But if you're the type that can let yourself be pulled into a pulpy tale with bigger-than-life characters and over-the-top action - and yes, probably some dramatic license with history - then I think you're going to like this one a lot.

My Grade: A-
Posted by Danny B at 10:57 PM

http://najessnopage.blogspot.com/2010/09/centurion.html

Centurion
Friday, September 10, 2010 by Nasya Jessica


It's a real good movie! My rate would be 5/5!

I like the plot, I like the time and place settings, I like the stars and characters. The only thing I dislike is that, well, some of the fighting scenes are a bit too sadist for me. But it doesn't really matter though. I'm too stunned with just how genuine and real (not too imaginative) the scenes are.

It might sounds weird but I think this movie is sadder than most movies that tell about a couple and then one of them died because of accident or have a fatal disease and stuffs.

It's like.. It portrays how cruel the truth is. And there's no easy way to survive your life. One wrong step and you die. It also shows that this world is no more than a clump of madness and unfairness.

http://joaopedrocanhenha.blogspot.com/2010/09/centurion.html

Saturday, September 11, 2010
Centurion
Movie name: Centurion
Year of release: 2010
Director: Neil Marshall
Stars: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, David Morrissey, Imogen Poots, Noel Clarke, Lee Ross, Ulrich Thomsen
Genre: Action, Adventure
Score out of ten (whole numbers only): 5

Synopsis:
Neil Marshall has built a name for himself with two films, "Dogsoldiers" and "The Descent", both suspense/thrillers with fantastic components. "Doomsday" was a mix of "28 Days Later" and "Mad Max" and though entertaining, it did not expand his universe or garnered him more accolades. "Centurion" is an action film, that takes place in Northern Britain, when the Roman Empire is trying to hold off their opponents, the Picts. The film follows Quintus Dias, the sole Roman survivor of a Pict attack to a Roman fort. The Roman Empire is trying to strengthen their position in that area and for that effect they send the tough 9Th Legion to tackle their barbarian opponents. Quintus Dias attempt to flee his captors and the 9Th Legion thirst for battle meet up in the field, with unexpected results.
Neil Marshall has built a career of writing and directing stories where the action and violent components are always very present. His heroes are at odds with a stronger and sometimes almost impossible opponents, yet in the end they always vanquish. The Roman Empire setting, allows him to change his scenario and to shoot the brutal battle scenes with a ferocity and realism that is quite impressive. The downfall of the film turns out to be the cliches that it encounters, with the running group, the lonely and beautiful witch that takes them in, the dangerous pursuers. The film has very good moments, but it's time for Neil Marshall to expand his screenplays a bit more and allow for more character development. An interesting film.
Posted by pedro at 10:26 AM

http://popcornparadise2010.blogspot.com/2010/09/pick-and-mix-bag-of-s$#!-sweets.html

11 September 2010
A pick and mix bag of s$#! sweets
Centurion – Neil Marshall

The Lord of the Rings films have had a massive impact on the film industry in how films look and how certain historic events are told through the same way, but i never thought that films would then try to capitalise on the success as much as the latest British film, directed by Neil Marshall, Centurion. Described as a historical thriller, the story of a war in Scotland, leading the Ninth legion to wipe out the Picts has a strange mix of Lord of the Rings-esque scenery sequences mixed with casual violence and fighting seen in Robin Hood or Apocalypto and throw in themes seen in 300 or King Arthur. It all seems to be mixed to create a violent film about soldiers that we don’t seem to care too much about. Of course i don’t want to know their whole life and back story, but i still need to know something about them to actually care. That’s why LOTR works because we care about each individual character and their outcome in the war of the rings. Featuring a cast full of familiar British faces such as Michael Fassbender, who had a recent turn in Hollywood with a great performance in Inglorious Basterds, Dominic West, Noel Clarke, as a black athlete pushed into the war (is that racist?) and David Morrissey, plus featuring the attractive but somewhat psychotic Olga Kurylenko.

It’s a ensemble cast which features a mixed bag of sh*#&% actors trying to be in a film that is lacking in script and emotion but makes up for it in mindless violence. The story, set in A.D. 117, sees a war between the Romans and the Picts, the Celtic’s who roam the Scottish Highlands and use guerrilla tactics to eliminate the Romans from different places, one by one. The main character is Quintus, played by Michael Fassbender, who is taken hostage after a Pict raid, but is soon saved by Roman legions that are brought in to demolish the terrifying and brutal Pict warriors. After a twist in betrayal from a Brigantian scout, a mute female named Etain and played by Olga Kurylenko, who marches the Roman legion into a trap killing nearly everyone in the legion, leaving only Quintus and six other men who have joined the fight late. Several brutal fighting scenes follow and one by one, the men are killed leaving only a handful at the end. It’s a revenge story for Etain who tracks these men to kill them for what the Roman soldiers did to her family.

With a lot of names and a lot of different characters, it’s hard to follow and grasp what’s going on and the scenes in-between the fight sequences aren’t paced right and the script is poor, overall, just a boring, over-violent, poor scripted film.

4/10

Simon Childs
Posted by Simon Childs at 14:43

http://hot-news-update.info/movie-reviews-piranha-3-d-centurion/

GO CENTURION This highly enjoyable action-adventure, set in 117 A.D., tracks a small cohort of Roman soldiers who are trapped far north of their empire’s boundary. A triple whammy of abrupt plot twists (I’ll let the movie spring them) has these guys being run ragged by a vengeful posse of blue-painted Picts — primordial Brits with Scottish accents and Viking faces. Up to now, writer-director Neil Marshall has specialized in horror movies, but in Centurion he imagines and communicates a remote world with terrific energy and a passion for detail. Michael Fassbender gives a magnetic lead performance here as Quintus, the most stubborn and resourceful of the Roman band. He’s backed by a strong ensemble of macho charmers with chiseled faces (Dominic West, Liam Cunningham), as well as Imogen Poots as the Druidic lass who lives as an outcast in the forest. Marshall’s excellent direction only becomes rushed when the Picts approach Poots’ hut to search for the Romans. Their supposed fear of this beauty’s reputation for witchcraft isn’t persuasively conveyed, so you’re obliged to wonder why these otherwise relentless brutes don’t just go busting in. In the end, though, this matters little. Centurion may bring to mind such recent armored entertainments as Pathfinder and the Bruckheimer King Arthur, but (and this is no small compliment) its craftsmanship and freedom from pretension suit it more to comparisons with Anthony Mann’s two classic-pursuit Westerns, The Naked Spur and Man of the West. (F.X. Feeney) (Citywide)

http://dannybaram.blogspot.com/2010/09/dannys-super-epic-summer-2010-movie.html

6. CENTURION

- Centurion didn't get a wide release, which is too bad, because it has the same sort of badass, bone-crunching style that made similarly stylized historical epics like Gladiator and 300 pop. Filled with iconic characters and memorable performances, Centurion is a pulpy parable set in ancient Rome that deserves to find an appreciative audience.

http://culturepulp.typepad.com/culturepulp/2010/09/movie-review-in-the-friday-sept-10-oregonian-writerdirector-neil-marshall-is-a-gore-hound-who-loves-to-sample-t.html

September 10, 2010
MOVIE REVIEW: 'Centurion'

Movie review in the Friday, Sept. 10 Oregonian....

Writer/director Neil Marshall is a gore-hound who loves to sample the sci-fi, action and horror classics that clearly turn his crank. He's pretty shameless about the sampling, but to my thinking he's also fairly good at it: When he's firing on all cylinders (as he was with 2005's "The Descent"), his movies have a confident, glandular, lizard-brain B-movie kick and stronger-than-strictly-necessary performances.

But yeah: Marshall's "Dog Soldiers" and "The Descent" owe more than a little to "Aliens." "Doomsday" gleefully plunders from "Mad Max" and "Escape from New York." And his latest -- the vaguely historical action-survival flick "Centurion" -- may contain more "Lord of the Rings"-style helicopter shots than Peter Jackson's entire trilogy. (It also starts with that totally played-out wailing-woman music from "Gladiator.")

Still: Marshall is having enough fun smashing the skulls of talented actors while knocking off every men-on-a-mission and survival flick ever made (from "The Naked Prey" to "Apocalypto") that I enjoyed it as a solid beer-theater watch. And because the film is opening at Portland's Living Room Theaters, which happens to serve beer, it all works out rather well.

"Centurion" is the second of Marshall's films (after "Doomsday") to incorporate Hadrian's Wall; the new film luridly speculates on the fate of the Roman Ninth Legion, which may or may not have fallen to the Picts in Britain around 117 A.D. It's essentially a chase picture in which a handful of Roman soldiers (played by the likes of Michael Fassbender) try to rescue their captured general (Dominic West) and avoid getting picked off by a hunting party of Celtic guerillas led by a mute warrior princess (Olga Kurylenko).

The movie probably starts better than it ends -- the early ambush of the Ninth Legion is a grisly set piece that makes "Braveheart" look like "Sesame Street," and Marshall never tops it. Things also bog down briefly when the movie tries to introduce a love interest in the form of a bland outcast herbalist (Imogen Poots). There's also the small matter of everyone speaking in clichés.

But the movie mostly moves at speed, and it's awesomely, needlessly, hilariously gory -- Mr. Marshall never, ever sticks a blade in someone without cutting to a close-up of it popping out the other side or showing you exactly where the lopped-off head landed, and the earnest cast somehow sells it as drama. 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.
_____

(97 min.; rated R for sequences of strong bloody violence, grisly images and language; playing in Portland at Living Room Theaters) Grade: B-minus

'Centurion' (The Oregonian, Friday, Sept. 30, 2010)

http://www.cinemastrikesback.com/?p=2596

CAPSULE REVIEWS – “Centurion” and “Altin Cocuk (aka Golden Boy)”
Posted on 09.13.10 by David @ 10:44 am

Centurion
Dir. Neil Marshall (UK 2010)
Rating: 2 out of 4 Stars (Average)
Capsule Review by: David Austin

Neil Marshall keeps telling the same story – a survival tale of competent professionals in unfamiliar territory being set upon by savage adversaries – over and over. He did it in Dog Soldiers, which pitted British soldiers against werewolves in the woods. He did it in The Descent, which saw spelunkers fighting albino CHUDs in dark caverns. He did it in Doomsday, which sent special forces troops into Scotland to do battle with mutants and medieval knights. And he does it again here, with his re-imagining of the fate of a Roman legion, lost fighting Picts on the wrong side of Hadrian’s Wall. Unfortunately, after taking promising strides in The Descent, Marshall seems to be weakening as a storyteller, even as his stories grow more baroque and his special effects more accomplished.

Centurion should be a lot more fun than it is. Based on the historical legend of the Roman Ninth Legion, which some evidence indicates disappeared while occupying Britain, Marshall’s tale clearly owes more than a passing debt to Robert E. Howard’s famous short story, Kings of the Night, which featured the massacre of a Roman corps by Pictish warriors (albeit with the Picts as the protagonists). However, Centurion is a B movie that never transcends its low aims (and I say this as a great lover of B movies). The plot is an unimaginative chase and revenge narrative populated by stock characters, none of whom are well developed despite a fun roster of actors. Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds) is entirely uninteresting as the hero, Quintus Dias. Dominic West (The Wire), whose respected and beloved general plays like a Cliffs Notes version of a manly commander, is completely wasted, as are Noelle Clarke (Doctor Who) and Imogen Poots. Olga Kurylenko’s Etain has no more depth, but at least her vicious Pict tracker is entertainingly over-the-top.

Indeed, as with the vastly over-praised Braveheart, it is only in sheer bloody-minded spectacle that Centurion succeeds. I can’t say I did not mildly enjoy Centurion – Marshall occasionally pushes the right buttons and the film is certainly worth a watch for genre fans – but it could have been so much more. Marshall clearly has the potential and the will to be one of the great genre filmmakers, but first he needs to devote more care to all aspects of his craft – not just the meticulous staging of violence.

http://awardscircuit.com/main/2010/09/13/review-round-up-2/

Centurion (**1/2)

Neil Marshall is one of the more underrated genre filmmakers working today. He usually can be counted on to deliver an extremely entertaining film (his werewolf film ‘Dog Soldiers’ is excellent, I’d argue his horror flick ‘The Descent’ is a modern classic of the genre, and his last movie ‘Doomsday’ was a lot of fun). However, for the first time he’s hit a stumbling block with the disappointingly flawed ‘Centurion’. A flick that shows every indication of being messed with on the studio front (notably in terms of lacking a proper budget), it can’t decide if it wants to be an intimate Roman tale or a grandiose would be epic. Either way, it’s ineffective as either. The movie is too open to be the intimate film it might have been otherwise and it’s too monotonous to function on the level of the epics. It’s a shame because Marshall stages some very nice battle scenes, the acting is better than you’d expect, and the cinematography is often beautiful. It’s just too mixed a bag to really embrace.

The film is the tale of legendary Ninth Legion. When the Roman soldiers are ambushed and all but a handful are killed, it falls upon Centurion Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender) and the remaining survivors to go on a quest to free their captured General (Dominic West). Behind enemy lines and with the deadly warrior Etain (Olga Kurylenko) mercilessly hunting them (she previously was a scout who betrayed them), Dias and his men must find a way to survive. It’s essentially an “on the run” movie, just with swords and sandals. When it’s thrilling, it’s very thrilling, but sadly that’s not enough of the time and the film descends into monotony too often.

Michael Fassbender continues to show that he’s on his way to the A list with his performance here. He’s intense and suitably heroic in all the right ways. He definitely does fine work here, but with his recent performances in ‘Inglourious Basterds’ and ‘Fish Tank’, that’s expected at this point. Dominic West has a small part, but he does what’s required of him, and Olga Kurylenko does better than expected with her vicious and silent role. The rest of the cast does good work as well, notably Imogen Poots, Axelle Carolyn, and David Morrissey. That being said, Fassbender really steals the show.

Marshall the director has always been better than Marshall the writer, and that’s the case again here. Aside from some instances where shoddy CGI is brought into play for the gore, the special effects are practical and work towards the goal of a bloody good time. If there’s one thing Marshall can do with few peers, it’s gore. The cinematography is excellent, and the pacing is only occasionally an issue. However, his screenplay doesn’t give anyone enough to do, and it leads to a lot of disappointment. I was invested in the characters, but bored by what the film decided to do with them. Neil Marshall is still someone to watch, but his star lost a bit of its shine in my eyes with this movie.

‘Centurion’ is not a bad film, but it’s a disappointingly bland one in my eyes. I wanted to love it, but I found myself having a bit of a hard time even liking it too much. The acting and cinematography are highlights, but not much else is. If the reports of behind the scenes interference hampering Marshall are true, then that’s unfortunate and makes some of my issues with the film understandable, but they’re still issues to me. If you’re expectations aren’t too high, there’s some fun to be had here. Just don’t set the bar too high, or you’ll end up let down like I was.

http://laudatrix.blogspot.com/2010/09/centurion.html

Tuesday, 14 September 2010
CENTURION
When this hit cinemas back in April, I was spectacularly uninterested. Yes my Fassbender obsession was well under way, but as a rule I tend to steer clear of Classics related films due to how much they always anger me with their gross inaccuracies and stereotyping. Yes I sound pedantic in my picking at the seemingly minor details, but I see no reason at all for a film to be made if the writers can't even look up a date. If you're so afraid of books, or even the f#%@#&! internet, I have to question why you're a writer in the first place.

Anyway, I recently bothered to find out that Olga Kurylenko, Imogen Poots, Riz Ahmed and Noel Clarke also starred, and suddenly I was a bit more keen to see the film - I'm a sucker for a good looking, multi-ethnic cast. And this particular penchant will be the death of me. Or at least the death of my well-honed taste in film. (Insert pretentious snort here.)

The film falls victim to pretty much every cliché associated with films representing antiquity there is. Michael Fassbender manages to look amazing despite being bloodied and whatnot, but his Queen's English narration (because you know, Romans DEFINITELY were all posh pricks) is very confused with his natural Irish accent which he eventually resigns himself to within the narrative itself. Olga Kurylenko is possibly the best I've ever seen her, mostly because she never has to utter a line of dialogue thanks to Etain's (her character) loss of a tongue at the hands of those brutal Romans. This is in itself a feature of the plot which confuses everything. Who are we supposed to sympathise with? The Romans? The Picts who are hunting the Romans down? This isn't done in an interesting way where the viewer is supposed to be impartial. More in a "oops we shouldn't have added in that element because now you won't want Michael Fassbender and his chronies to make it". Oops indeed.

What really annoyed me, though, was the inclusion of Agricola in the film. Largely because they decided he was going to be one of the "bad Romans". I spent a good few months of my life studying the man and the biography of him by Tacitus, (obviously written from a different viewpoint but hey) and I therefore find it difficult to view him as a conspiring fiend who would try to kill Michael Fassbender. Additionally, the film clearly states at the beginning that it is set in A.D 117 when Agricola actually died in A.D. 93. That's not even taking into consideration the fact he returned to Rome from governing Britain in A.D. 62. Why, then, did the writers not just set the film when he was actually alive if they were so keen to sully Agricola's good name? Your guess is as good as mine. Great job at not even being bothered to look on Wikipedia there.

Essentially, then, the film misses the mark on a coherent narrative, coherent development of characters (English/Irish Fassbender + the Romans vs. Picts aside, the 'love' affair between The Fass and Imogen Poots is entirely rushed and entirely unbelievable) and any shred of historical awareness. Riz Ahmed was probably the best thing about the film, and he's criminally killed within 10 minutes of him appearing.
Posted by Laudatrix at 03:13

http://worstinside.blogspot.com/2010/09/centurion-story-about-romans-fighting.html

Centurion, a story about Romans fighting

A pre-chainsaw extravaganza where the Romans talk like James Bond and the Picts have better military backgrounds than the American generals who invaded Afghanistan. Michael Fassbender, Dominic West and Olga Kurylenko team up for this roller coaster of brutish violence set in the first century AD in the desolate winter of the Scottish Highlands. “Centurion” follows on the heels of the much-ballyhooed “Robin Hood” ancient history action thriller by stealing the show from its higher budget predecessor.

Set in about 150 AD the story is about Romans fighting the ancient tribal Picts in the awesome, snow swept highlands of Northern Scotland.

Although the intent appears to be to make a film that was more explicitly brutal and more graphically terrifying than “Robin Hood” the result is much more than that. It is an honest, straightforward blood fest in the mold of the old Viking films.

There are the bashings and beheadings of the neo-“Braveheart” films and there is also a little Werner Herzog “Survival Dawn,” “Dances With Wolves” and the chase scenes of “Butch Cassidy” (“Who ARE those guys…”). With a little Monty Python for good measure.

This film is better than a bloody toothed banshee Texas chainsaw extravaganza. Special make up effects designer Paul Hyett found his dream job with limitless crushed heads, severed arms and spurting neck slashes.

The encyclopedia Britannica of arrow, spear and pike wounds. The PhD of punctures. He reported that they started off with about 200 liters of fake blood and used it up halfway through shooting. Once you get started with this kind of production it can be hard to back off.

If you saw Hyett’s work in another fantastic Neil Marshall film, “The Descent,” with the flesh eating slime monster and the hapless girls in the cave losing body parts one by one, you know where this team is coming from.

Unfortunately, by about half way through the film the special effects, costumes and make-up begin to wear thin. How much can one person do with hatchets? Even the ultra-stylized Pict she-warrior Etain (played to the hilt by Olga Kurylenko) starts to look like the same-old, same-old. Honey, do you have to smear that shade of gore on your cheeks all the time?

The chase has gone on too long with insufficient reason given for the survival of the wimpy Romans. They are obviously outmatched in every way by the Picts and have been running over the frozen mountains all but barefoot for a hundred miles.

Are we supposed to believe this? There has to be some reason given why the centurion gets away with it for as long as he does, but none is given. At that point, the film crosses over the line from semi-reality to comic book super-hero and the two genres do not mix.

If you are a sucker for action flicks, especially the ancient war/siege, axe and boiling oil flicks, you will like “Centurion.” By the end of the film it is coming off as almost a B movie but it still has that chutzpah to keep on slashing, bashing and burning.

I’m not sure that even the film makers are aware of the times the film drops off the edge of sadistic drama into the Monty Python zone (“You want to slit his throat? OK, we’ll flip for it…”). The film fades in the second half but is a great and entertaining romp, nonetheless. Not as well acted as, say, “Braveheart,” but much better, more unvarnished and visceral, than “Robin Hood.”

The eating of the caribou stomach contents should go down in history as one of the most memorable savage killer gross-outs on film. It is almost as good as the baby monster emerging from Kane’s chest in the original “Alien.” This is inspiring stuff, but for only the most august action-thriller aficionados.

Directed and Written by: Neil Marshall
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West and Olga Kurylenko
Runtime: 97 minutes
Source: (wateen.net)

http://www.movieretriever.com/blog/820/movie-review-centurion-/1704923

September 17, 2010
Movie Review: Centurion
Posted by Turk182

Neil Marshall's Centurion features a commitment to craft that helps overcome issues of storytelling by providing a visceral, violent experience designed to get you in your gut and bones more than in your heart or head. This is a brutal film about people determined to fight for their own cause, even if they're not completely clear on the purpose or inception of said cause. Unlike the cold experience of something like 300 or the trippy journey of a film like Valhalla Rising, Centurion strives for that rare feeling of realism in a period action/adventure with only a few stylish flourishes. With a very talented cast, Marshall returns to the form displayed by The Descent after the relative failure of the misstep of Doomsday and reminds us why he's been such a buzzed-about director in the first place.

In 117 A.D., the Roman Empire was on the fast track to take over the entire planet. A group of Roman Centurions was advancing through Britain and when they reached the northern edge of what would become the United Kingdom they stumbled upon a group of inhabitants known as the Picts. These violent warriors stood their ground and the legend goes that the Ninth Legion disappeared into the mist. Marshall uses this legend to draw characters within the myth starting with Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender of Hunger and Inglourious Basterds) and the leader Virilus (Dominic West of The Wire) on the side of the Romans and the deadly Etain (Olga Kurylenko) on the side of the Picts. Character development is minimal as location and battle were clearly the production priority but the great Fassbender and Kurylenko find a way to make an impact despite being sketchily written. Marshall's wife Axelle Carolyn and the rising star Imogen Poots (Solitary Man) are also memorable in small roles.

When I think of Centurion I think of dirt and blood. Some will be turned off by the lack of character or theme and I do think there's a stronger version of Centurion that doesn't sacrifice these elements for the sake of the realism of violence but it's the craft of the film that impresses and makes a lasting impact. Marshall ambitiously refuses to play hero or villain in Centurion, recognizing that the Romans were essentially a murdering-and-pillaging superpower but he also doesn't turn this into the story of a victorious underdog. He doesn't seem concerned about these elements (nor the film's obvious parallel to the war in Iraq) as much he is the atmosphere, grit, and grime of fighting for land and life in a part of the world that often makes that extremely difficult. As West's Virilus lays beaten and near-death in the frigid air or Fassbender runs for his life across a snowy plain, these moments of pain have a resonance that's often missing from this genre. Too often, period action films feel like people playing dress-up and Centurion displays Marshall's remarkably abilities with finding realism in a story that's nearly two centuries old. He sometimes gets carried away with his geysers of blood and when the film does rely on character, as it does in a final act love story and ridiculously overcooked final scene, it falters heavily.

And yet, despite the film's flaws, the relentless energy of the film carries it through its two-dimensionality. I can tear apart the lack of characterization or the relatively-generic plot, but I think filmmakers who are willing to take the chance and go for realism in a genre so often lacking it deserve praise. Centurion is a battle film, a work of bravura action in which every swing of the sword or thrust of a spear has a resonance so often missing from period films that feel like theme park recreations. It's not a perfect film, but it's still an accomplished one.

Rating: THREE BONES

Reviewed by Brian Tallerico (MovieRetriever.com Film Critic)

Release Date: Now playing in some markets, expanding to others and currently available On Demand
Rating: R

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, Axelle Carolyn, and Imogen Poots
Director: Neil Marshall
Writer: Neil Marshall

http://pretentioustriptothemovies.blogspot.com/2010/09/review-centurion.html

17.9.10
Review: Centurion

From the beginning of "Centurion", it's very clear what the movie is going for. Within the first few scenes we have a small Roman garrison attacked by barbarians and some very brutal violence with stylish blood spattering everywhere. And even before that the credits appear with big, bold Celtic font, rushing over the northern mountainous regions of Britain where this was shot. It's a full blown, bloody, grisly epic in the tradition of the sword and sandals which I so dearly love. Of course, "Centurion" is far from having the depth and heart of movies like "Gladiator" and "Braveheart". But it's not going for that, far from it. It doesn't set out to achieve much, and what it does set out to do, I think it does quite well.

Michael Fassbender (above) plays Quintus Dias, a centurion stationed in the far north that gets raided and he subsequently gets captured. Luckily, he escapes and is rescued by the Ninth Legion and gets turned right back around from where he came to go fight Gorlacon, the leader of the barbarians. But sadly, it's a trap and the legion is completely destroyed. All except for Dias and 6 others, of course, and Dias is determined to get the last of the legion back home safe even with Etain (Olga Kurylenko), the mute, deadly warrior woman, on their tail.

It's easy to watch the trailer for this and dismiss it as another failure in the Roman/Greek genre such as "Alexander", "Troy", or "300" (yes, I think "300" is dumb). But unlike those movies that went for a scale and dramatic effect that failed miserably amidst terrible acting, action, characters, etc, "Centurion" shies away from such hoopla. It goes for a simpler storyline that has enough happening in it to not completely dissolve into nothing but bloody sword fights. But never fear, there are plenty, and they are quite gruesome. It avoids becoming nothing but a action show like "Clash of the Titans", devoid of any mildly interesting plot with lifeless characters.

And Fassbender's Dias provides much of the life for the movie. I'm eager to watch how Fassbender's career goes from here. So far I've seen him in "300" and "Inglourious Basterds" and am impressed by his ability to play so many different roles. I really want to see "Hunger" where he portrays Bobby Sands, an Irish republican on a hunger strike. Most of all, I'm excited to see him as Magneto in "X-Men: First Class" alongside James McAvoy as Charles Xavier. Although "Centurion" isn't the kind of movie to get anyone noticed for acting, it doesn't mean it can't help. Fassbender plays the resolved, intense Dias well and the choice for him as the narrator of the film clearly sets him apart and gives the audience a character to root for who is actually pretty darn cool. Olga Kurylenko definitely deserves some credit for the steely-eyed Etain. She's probably one of the best female villains I've seen for a while, actually, and never shies away from splattering her own share of gore across the camera as well.

"Centurion" isn't a perfect movie, of course. There's a romantic interest for Dias inserted towards the end that is rather distracting and out of place in regards to the rest of the film. But part of me doesn't care so much since Dias is cool and deserves it. So in the end, I found myself satisfied with the high adrenaline theme of the movie and was surprised to find a bit more than I was expecting apart from the loads of violence. I'd say it's well worth getting OnDemand (where I saw it tonight) or waiting to add it to your Netflix cue.
Posted by C. Volk at 12:36 AM

http://amillatwocents.wordpress.com/2010/09/19/centurion-2010/

This is a straight forward tale of a band of Roman soldiers being hunted down by Pict warriors in the stunning surroundings of the Scottish mountains. Whilst the dialogue and script won’t exactly win any Oscars, the film was entertaining enough with plenty of blood & guts fighting scenes.

Olga Kurylenko was actually quite convincing in her portrayal of a brutal ice cold warrior, much better than Keira Knightley’s portrayal of a female warrior in King Arthur. Perhaps Olga not having to utter a word in the entire film as she portrays a Pict who had her tongue cut out was a clever way to make her character more cold and mysterious.

What really stands out in the film though is the stunning back drop of the Scottish mountains, It’s like “Highlander” all over again only better!

Centurion, doesn’t carry the “epic” status as other movies like “Gladiator”,”Braveheart” or “Kingdom of heaven”, no it’s on a much smaller scale and doesn’t really spend too much time on character development on

either the Pict or Roman sides. I suppose in a way it helps this film as it doesn’t get bogged down in lengthy dialogue, but concentrates more on action.

Director Neil Marshall (The Descent) has crafted a gritty movie that at its core is a simple ‘cat and mouse’ tale – and a highly entertaining one at that – but becomes much more thanks to the efficacious work from all the cast and crew. Marshall himself executes a few impressive sequences, the most outstanding being the initial ambush on the Ninth Legion, showing once again he knows how to stretch a small budget with minimalistic techniques and a passionate approach. Director of photography Sam McCurdy provides a suitably grimy and grainy look that, although at times is too dim, sets the ideal tone for the film. Perhaps Marshall should have monitored the editing closer though, Chris Gill’s frenetic cutting very nearly ruins a couple of the fight scenes.

Major Hollywood star in the waiting Michael Fassbender (played the German-impersonating British Lieutentant in Inglourious Basterds) is undoubtedly the standout among the acting contingent. As the titular soldier, Fassbender makes for a charismatic leading man that convinces in both the physical and dramatic elements of the role.

I eagerly wait to see what he does as the young Magneto in the upcoming X-Men prequel. Elsewhere The Wire alumni Dominic West is rough around the edges as the gruff General Virilus, Olga Kurylenko is positively bad-ass as the mute, monomaniacal warrior hell-bent on revenge and BBC favourite David Morrisey adds clout in his supporting role of Bothos.

Whilst this film won’t score too highly on the originality stakes, it’s a good effort in an all too neglected genre. A grubby, gory delight.

Movie rating from me : 3 stars

http://www.fangoriafrightfest.com/?p=743

The film Centurion directed by Neil Marshall (The Descent) is “set during the war between Roman soldiers and Pict tribesmen during the 2nd century Roman conquest of Britain. Michael Fassbender stars as Quintus Dias, Roman centurion and son of a legendary gladiator who leads a group of soldiers on a raid of a Pict camp to rescue a captured general (Dominic West). The son of the Pict leader is murdered during the raid, and the Romans find themselves hunted by a seemingly unstoppable group of the Pict’s most vicious and skilled warriors, led by a beautiful and deadly tracker (Olga Kurylenko), and hell bent on revenge.”

Sounds pretty good, huh? Although the film is categorized under, action/ adventure, the film is INCREDIBLY GORY; rumoring to be one of the goriest battle movies ever. “Neil Marshall isn’t new to bloodshed. He thrives on it. Over the past decade, from DOG SOLDIERS to THE DESCENT and DOOMSDAY, Marshall has perfected his own brand of gritty ultra-violence.” (Bloody-Disgusting)

Centurion, unlike other films in it’s genre is a nice 97 minute film filled with extreme violence and epic blood baths. To promote the films highly anticipated theatrical release, Magnolia Pictures got Simon Bisley, a renowned British comic artist to design a one of a kind poster showcasing the films main characters. Centurion, originally released in the UK, is now available through ON DEMAND, Xbox, and Amazon. The film will be released to the sliver screen on August 27th, 2010.

http://uglyreview.blogspot.com/2010/09/centurion.html

Saturday, 18 September 2010
Centurion
Phil's Quick Capsule Review
Neil Marshall once again delivers a strong, action packed modestly budgeted and very British film that, for its few faults (inconstant accents & performances being a big one) is actually a damn enjoyable romp that never out stays its 90 min run time and is suitably bloody and OTT.

Best Bit: Storming the Barracks

Rent, Borrow or Buy: Buy

IMDB Rating: 7/10

If you liked this try: Doomsday (8/10); The Descent (7/10); Dog Soldiers (5/10)

Posted by Modern Life? at 09:45