CENTURION

Jeri Jacquin, Movie Maven

Opening in theatres this Friday from director/writer Neil Marshall come the battle for survival with Magnet Studio’s sword wielding tale of “Centurion”.

This film tells the story of Britain in A.D. and Centurion Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender), a Roman soldier who is captured by their enemies the Picts and taken to their leader Gorlacon (Ulrich Thomsen).

In another camp, General Titus Flavius Virilus (Dominic West) has been ordered by Governor Julius Agricola (Paul Freeman) to do whatever is necessary to wipe out the Picts. To further help their cause, the Governor gives him Etain (Olga Kurylenko), a Pictish tracker who will help them find their target.

At the Pict camp, Dias manages to escape and is on the run. Being chased down by Pict warriors, Virilus and the Ninth Legion take them down and rescue Dias. Back among his own Dias tells them what has happened and about the Pict warriors.

As they make their way further into Gorlacon’s territory, the Ninth Legion is ambushed, Virilus captured and all but a few men led but Dias survive. It is Virilus who tells the Centurion to take what is left of his men and “get them home”.

Following his order Dias begins the trek – he and the men Vortix (Dave Legeno), Aeron (Axelle Carolyn), Thax (JJ Feild), Septus (Lee Ross), Liam Cunningham as Brick, Bothos (David Morrissey), Macros (Noel Clarke), Leonidas (Dimitri Leonidas) and Tarak the cook (Riz Ahmed) run for home. The vengeful Etain whose orders are to bring back the heads of the Romans constantly hunts them.

It is a race for life.

FINAL WORD: Fassbender has always been a favorite of mine. There is something elegant and simple about this actor outwardly but I know it goes much deeper. This role calls for a lot physically and Fassbender delivers.  He has made his mark in television overseas. His next project is “X-Men: First Class” which is in preproduction.

West as Flavius was well done and if the face seems somewhat familiar to you, perhaps you’ll recall him in a little film called “300”. In that role he played Theron, the man who sold out to Xerxes. Here he is reunited with Fassbender (another “300” co-star) as Romans both fighting for survival.

Thomsen as Gorlacon has a short but to the point role. He is a man leading his people and nothing or no one will stop him. The cast of soldiers worked well together and it makes watching a group easier when the characters flow together which these did.

The standout here is Kurylenko as Etain. The woman does not have to say a word – it is all in her eyes and in her deliberateness. As a Pict tracker nothing got past this woman and her rage fueled everything she did – it was awesome.

There is a small role of Arianne by Imogen Poots as the Pict woman outcast by her people and labeled a witch that is nicely done.

Other cast include: Rachael Stirling as Druzilla, Eoin Macken as Achivir, Jake Maskall as Roman Argos, Ryan Atkinson as Gorlacon’s Son, Paul Freeman as Governor Agricola, Simon Chadwick as Carlisle, and Andreas Wisniewski as Commander Gratus.

TUBS OF POPCORN: I give “Centurion” three and a half tubs of popcorn. There is definitely graphic violence in the film and some colorful language but nothing fans of this genre of film haven’t seen before. It was beautifully filmed and the scenery is fantastic.

My only complaint, if you want to even call it that, was the ending. The story was working toward something and then kind of just – well – fell down! Everything else in the film wasn’t as predictable as the ending and many in the theatre said it out loud.

So either one of two things are going to happen. One, there will be a sequel for reasons I will not tell you (see the film silly!) or two, it just ran out of steam before hitting the home stretch. I’d like to think the door is open instead of closed.

That being said it’s a remarkable throwback to the Roman/gladiator films but with really cool effects. It is entertaining and filled with all the swordplay you’d come to expect. Don’t over analyze – just enjoy – and leave your pig poles at home!

In the end – fight or die!