"My name is Quentus Dias, and I am a soldier of Rome. This is neither the beginning nor the end of my story."
These words mark the beginning of a remarkable, mega-violent screen odyssey set in Scotland in the year 117 AD. They are spoken as we see Quentus, his hands tied and his chest bloodied, fleeing desperately across the mountains and moors of Scotland. The first few minutes of the movie flash back to how he got into this predicament - as a commander of one of Rome's outposts on the Pictish frontier, Quentus has studied and learned his enemy very well. But not well enough to prevent his outpost from being overwhelmed and all his men killed in a midnight raid by the Picts. They take him captive and try to break him, but then he manages to escape and flee into the camp of Rome's Ninth Legion, commanded by the earthy General Titus Flavius Virilus, who is loved by his men and feared by the Picts. Not long before Dias' escape, the Ninth had been commanded to move northward, to wipe the Picts offf the map once and for all. But when the governor's appointed guide turns out to be a double agent, most of the 9th are wiped out in a devastating sneak attack. The General is captured, and Quintus Dias finds himself in command of 8 desperate survivors. Do they try to rescue their beloved general? Or do they try to escape southward, and let the governor know about the fate of the 9th? Can they make their way through the beautiful wintry wilderness crawling with blue-painted enemies?
This was a VERY good movie - I was surprised to see on IMDB how poorly it did in its very limited theatrical release. It was a movie that would have been gorgeous to see on the big screen - the cinematography was magnificent. The acting was decent, not great but not terrible, and the gore was super abundant - more remniscent of SPARTACUS: BLOOD AND SAND than it was GLADIATOR. No nudity though - I think it was too beastly cold for anyone to think about taking their clothes off! But this is a good, solid way to kill two hours on a Saturday night. I loved it!
I thought it was... just OK. Except for the neverending aerial shots, it's a pretty cool movie. There are even some terrific moments, such as the ambush to the Roman legion, and many of the scenes Olga Kurylenko is in.
But I expected more. "The descent" was one of the best experiences I've ever had in a theatre, and I keep expecting everything Neil Marshall is doing afterwards to impress me in the same way. And although "Doomsday" and "Centurion" are very good B-movies, they are also pretty shallow.
But now, Neil Mashall with a good script, that would be awesome to watch.
This is one of the few films I really wanted to see this year. Not because it was "good" or "bad," but because it was "different." Of course, it didn't play in the theaters in the town, where I live, as films that are "different" seldom come to the town, where I live. Now, if I want to see it, I'll have to see it on dvd, as the local Redbox has it.
(http://jj-feild.com/drupal/files/images/550w_movies_centurion_jj_field_noel_clarke_liam_cunningham.jpg)
I watched Centurion last night. As Indy said, it's Neil Marhsall's take on the mystery of the Roman 9th Legion, which mysteriously disappeared in Scotland sometime around 117 A.D. Wow.!
I'm not sure how historically accurate any of it is, but the movie is a great time. It's bloody and action packed and never really slows down until literally the very last minute. The acting was better than usual in action movies. Dominic West as The Roman General Titus Flavius Virilus was fantastic, he was just the kind of commander you'd want to serve under and I felt he out-Spartan'ed Gerard Jones from 300. Michael Fassbender was good as the thoughful Centurion Quintus Dias and Imogene Poot did a nice job as the "witch" Arianne. She put a nice spin on the character, making her more of an outcast than a menace. The scenery is also amazing. I never knew Scotland was so beautiful or even that it has mountains.
But the break away star of this movie, hands down, was Olga Kurylenko as Etain, the Pictish scout who hunts Romans. She is quite the Terminator in this movie, she is so overwhelmingly powerful that she allmost seems like a force of nature. But her performance isn't all one note. Etain has a good reason to feel and act the way she does. She and her family were horribly brutalized by the Romans and now, as one character put it, "she has an empty whole in her soul that only Roman blood can fill." She does have a final showdown with Fassbender's character,Quintus Dias, and although I don't want to give anything away..............SPOILER........SPOILER..................SPOILER.................................. .....SPOILER...when Quintus eventually kills her she seems both furious at being killed and relieved that she no longer has to feel the pain of her loss. Maybe I'm getting a little hokey there, perhaps even ferklempt, but I think she gave a great performance, especially with a character who is mute and can only convey her feelings through her eyes and body language.
(http://www.horrorphile.net/images/centurion-olga-kurylenko12.jpg)
(http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/images/centurion.jpg)
(http://cdn.fd.uproxx.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/OlgaKurylenko-Centurion-600x249.jpg)
I liked it too, wasn't a game-changer by any means but definitely enjoyable.
Especially Imogen Poots' (or however the hell you spell her name) character "Etain".
Not often in film that's non-horror that the antagonist is smaller & female and believably menacing.
Such is DEFINITELY THE CASE HERE.
As I watched the pursuit of these Roman soldiers by this remorsless mechanism "Etain"....it almost felt as eerie as watching the hunt in "Predator" for the first time.
My 2 hours didn't feel wasted here, again...nothing new (chase movie) but executed in a way that's entertaining.
I give it 4 gooey green drops. :teddyr:
P.S. My bad, I guess "Etain's" character was played by Olga Kurylenko (or however the hell you spell her name lol).
Still, this chick decked out in white face-paint w/ blue tiger stripes and weilding a hatchet would be enough to scare the hell out of me!! :teddyr:
Just finished watching this a couple of minutes ago and remembered this post. This was a pretty good film. I really liked the characters. I thought a lot of them worked well on screen together. There was some great fight scenes, utilizing several different weapons. My favorite being Etain taking on the general. She was using this somewhat ornate spear while he was fighting with his gladius (short sword).
There were a few nitpicks for me. In one scene, Etian (Olga Kurylenko) screams after killing someone. (You can see it in one of the pics posted above) The camera shows her cgi-out tongue and brought a little chuckle to what was otherwise a dramatic scene. It didn't so much ruin it for me, but had I seen this in a theater the film would have continued on. When watch on DVD, you can pause and rewatch, which sometimes can hamper the viewing experience.
Still a really good movie. After seeing Etain, I really wish they'd fast track a Golden Axe movie and get Olga to play Tyris Flare.
(http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/4737/634305-tyrisflare_large.jpg)(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_hMfD6FDK5iY/TINovKdtPjI/AAAAAAAABWQ/IdiWgnDvW9U/s1600/etain.jpg)
I really enjoyed this movie, although it isn't as memorable as, say, GLADIATOR, there's still plenty to like. Etain's a badass; I know she was technically the villain but there were moments where I almost wanted to see her win. I thought the cast was really good - especially Olga & Fassbender - and worked well together. My only real issue with this movie was the CGI bloodspurts. Why are all the action movies doing this now? Did the cost of squibs skyrocket? This shouldn't be a thing!
I liked it much better than THE EAGLE though (also about the 9th Legion, but different director).
I wouldn't have guessed just from watching them that the same guy (Neil Marshall) made this movie, THE DESCENT and DOOMSDAY too.