A Droid Premiere – Centurion (2010)

I’ve been on a pretty bad run of (self-inflicted) movie experiences recently, with the dire 70’s Arnies, and the hugely disappointing ‘Splice’ amongst a number I don’t dare mention for chance of their mere memory manifesting in to some sort of gigantic anus beast that will feed on me in the most hideous of ways. But, that has all changed. I foresee a brighter (immediate) future as I have entered a new period of viewing experiences. I’ve got awesome 80’s Arnies lined up, yesterday I watched ‘Brighton Rock’, with it’s terrific performance from Richard Attenborough, and then I proceeded to get my ass kicked by ‘Centurion’.

In 117 AD the Roman Empire has most of the known world under it’s rule. But it’s progress through Britain is halted in the North by the Picts, a Scottish tribe which uses guerilla tactics and unforgiving savagery against the Roman army more used to overpowering opposing armies in open combat. The Ninth Legion, led by General Virilius (Dominic West), is ordered to defeat the Pict clan, but en-route are ambushed and slaughtered. The few remaining survivors, including Quintas Dias (Michael Fassbender), Bothos (David Morrisey) and Brick (Liam Cunningham), must make it out of enemy territory before the Picts find them.

That’s a broad plot description and I think that it’s best not to know too much about the films plot prior to seeing it. I was a little surprised by how it unfolded, which is one of the films many pleasures. It’s not by any means original, but it was a little different to what I expected.

The acting is excellent, particularly Dominic West as the charismatic General. He’s beloved by the men of the Ninth Legion and in just a few short scenes you can see why. Michael Fassbender is solid as Quintas Dias, the Centurion of the title. He is the films hero, and portrays an intelligent, capable leader of men with believable conviction (although I half wish that West and Fassbender had switched roles; West is that good). There’s a lot of great support from Morrisey, Cunningham and Olga Kurylenko, who plays Etain, a Pict warrior and tracker with a very valid reason to hate the Romans. Despite never saying a single word, she has a strong presence and convinces as a fierce warrior.

The film is based on a Scottish legend, where the invincible Ninth Legion ventured in to Scotland and disappeared without a trace. Written and directed by Neil Marshall, it’s a brutal and bloody tale of survival. It a bit like ‘Predator’, in that a small group of warriors are picked off one by one by an almost supernatural opponent. Etain, who leads the Pict in the chase, is able to track them across the vast mountains and harsh Scottish terrain with almost leisurely ease. While not entirely believable, this makes her a terrifying foe for our heroes.

The film, made for just £10 million, looks amazing. I keep making this point over and over again, but where the hell does all that money go on films like ‘Iron Man 2’ and ‘Transformers 2’? I know special effects are expensive, but here, Marshall has created an epic on a pittance, and it looks fantastic. Simply seeing a wide shot of the vast Ninth Legion marching, or the aftermath of the decimating ambush, makes me wonder at how he made this film for so little. Using Scottish locations and historical re-enactment groups (for the Pict and Roman armies), the film never fails to convince of it’s historical setting.

The dialogue at times was a little too modernized, with characters using terms such as “get laid” and “wide berth”, which I doubt very much was in the vernacular of a Roman almost two thousand years ago. And although the heroes of the film are the men of the Ninth Legion, it was often difficult to feel unsympathetic towards the Pict. They are just in defending themselves against a foreign invasion. Their methods, while brutal, are an intelligent strategy against a huge army. Both Etain, and Gorlacon (Ulrich Thomsen) the chief of the Picts, are legitimately entitled to their hatred of the Romans. This made me somewhat conflicted in where my allegiance lied. While I wanted the Romans to make it back safely, I also felt that the Pict deserved some retribution. This detracted from my involvement in the film a little. And I was a little disappointed, because there is dialogue early in the film that sets up Dias as a terrifying fighter, who’s father was a famed gladiator who taught him how to fight. I was expecting a terrific showdown with Etain, where he unleashes his gladiatorial fighting style, but unfortunately it didn’t live up to my lofty expectations.

But despite those small problems, ‘Centurion’ is a terrific film, made on a small budget by an immensely talented filmmaker. Trying to envision what Marshall could do with a decent budget (or an Alien film) just melts my brain. This film is getting completely and utterly screwed on release over here, in favour of garbage like ‘Iron Man 2’, ‘Date Night’ and ‘Clash of the Titans’. Do yourself a huge favour and see this instead.