Director: Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Doomsday)
Writer: Neil Marshall
Producers: Christian Colson, Robert Jones
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, David Morrissey, Dimitri Leonidas, Noel Clarke
MPAA Rating: R
Running time: 97 min.

(4/5)

Every Neil Marshall film seems to follow roughly the same formula: a small band of unlikelys, often led by a strong female character, must battle against the evil odds to stay alive. While many might take such a repetitive structure as a criticism, I actually find it to be a strength as long as it’s done in new or interesting ways each time. That isn’t to say that Centurion does anything all that new or inventive but Marshall seems to excel at making things fresh and fun with each of his outings with a great flair for style, gorgeous scenery and exciting action sequences (i.e. cool kills).

Essentially nothing more than an on-foot chase movie, a small band of Roman Soldiers struggle desperately to get in front of enemy lines while being mercilessly hunted by a barbaric group of warriors from Northern England known as the Picts. Angry for crimes against their people, The Picts have sworn revenge and death to the Roman Soldiers and have sent out their bravest and most ruthless hunter/tracker (Olga Kurylenko) to bring back their heads. A race across the gorgeous country side ensues with harsh environments, wild animals, unknown strangers and each others’ pride or lust for power almost making the savage hunters the least of their worries.

What you’re in for in terms of visual style is exemplified immediately with some fantastic, sweeping opening credits that really open up the frame and give a sense of the environment we’ll be spending most of the story with. As a huge fan of Christophe Gans’ Brotherhood of the Wolf, almost exclusively for the visual environment and aesthetics, Centurion comes really close to bringing that style back as Marshall makes sure to take full advantage of his location with just amazing set up shots of the English countryside and its various and changing weather patterns. Quite honestly, these shots alone were enough to make me love the film… but there was so much more.

Now unlike other Marshall films, as unlikely as it might seem, it feels like this movie actually has some things to say. They may not be all that deep or new, but injecting some sort of sense of intelligence into this story really helps flesh out the characters and actually gives the audience something to feel rather than just watch a series of battles and decapitations. The most interesting thing about Centurion is how we relate to the two main groups of characters. We never really know who we’re supposed to be rooting for. On the surface, or at first glance it might feel or seem obvious that the Romans are our protagonists, but these guys do some pretty despicable stuff and quite honestly deserve the devil’s due. Meanwhile, The Picts seem pretty blood-thirsty themselves and it’s hard not to pull for the guys just trying to get home to their families – even though they’re simply a bunch of guys from an invading outfit that shouldn’t even be there in the first place.

This dynamic of these two factions does two things that make this movie awesome. First, it makes the story completely unpredictable as to who will be victorious and which company will make it back to their respective camp alive. Sure there are bits here and there that you can see coming a mile away, but the overall story arc is hard to predict and the back and forth in my head as to who I’m pulling for and what I think is going to happen, with really no clue, was a big part of the fun here. Secondly, I can’t help but wonder if this is loosely allegorical to the allies’ occupation of the middle east. We’re cheering for “our guys” but know that they’re doing some pretty detestable things in the name of their Gods and are really just invading a land that they have no business being in at all. Maybe this is looking into it too deeply and maybe that isn’t even a valid comparison (it especially might depend on your political viewpoint) or even relevant to the enjoyment of the movie, but it seems like sort of an obvious parallel.

Some of this minutiae is dived into with details that subtly examine the justification (or lack thereof) for war and how all of these characters perceive their roles in this conflict. A quick scene of The Picts preparing for the hunt looks typical and nothing that we’ve not seen a hundred times before (applying face paint, sharpening their blades, etc.), but underneath all of that cliché is an explanation into why they must hunt these men and their motivations as to why they’re willing to go as far as they do in succeeding with their “mission.” These expository moments don’t feel forced, unnecessary or typical at all. Rather, they really seem to flesh out the whys of what we’re seeing and experiencing rather than just a typical bloody, revenge, action picture.

Like Doomsday before it, while Centurion is mostly on screen for us to have fun with and munch on popcorn, it does take itself seriously enough to make the visual details worth looking out for. Set pieces and props are rather typical (which isn’t to say they aren’t awesome) for this type of “Braveheart-esque”, period piece but the costuming is really amazing and detailed as well, which make the characters that much more fun to hang out with. From the grander capes and armoring of the Roman Soldiers to the wicked, etched in detail of a Pict’s leather cuff, all of this stuff just makes the visual treat on screen that much sweeter. The muggy, dirty, smelly and downright dinginess feel of the communities in this world is palpable and along with the aforementioned set up shots of the landscape, it’s hard not to feel sucked into this desolate world that Marshall somehow makes breathe and come alive.

After all that though, this movie succeeds by just having a blast with itself. Typical battle sequences are laced with interesting camera angles and awesomely inventive kill shots. Sure the CGI blood can be annoying at first but after just a little while it’s not quite as noticeable or the viewer just gets used to it. It could also be argued that the CGI look of the blood is fully intentional to add a little bit to the “comicy” feel to the movie and add a certain amount of aesthetic contrast in this world of mostly earthy tones in the cinematography. For the fact that this movie seems so typical and obvious on the surface and yet it transcends cliché by making everything breathe so arrestingly well; from characters to sets and from costuming to performances to simple yet neat camera tricks this is one of the better period, action pieces we’ve gotten in a long time and further solidifies Neil Marshall as a master of what he does: entertain like hell!