Centurion (2010)

Number Rolled: 92

Movie Name/Year: Centurion (2010)

Tagline: Fight or die.

Genre: Action & Adventure

Length: 97 minutes

Rating: R

Production Companies: Pathe Pictures International, UK Film Council, Warner Bros., Canal+, CineCinema, Celador Films

Executive Producer: Francois Ivernel, Cameron McCracken, Paul Smith

Director: Neil Marshall

Writer: Neil Marshall

Actors: Michael Fassbender, Andreas Wisniewski, Dave Legeno, Axelle Carolyn, Dominic West, JJ Feild, Lee Ross, David Morrissey, Ulrich Thomsen, Ryan Atkinson, Paul Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Liam Cunningham, Noel Clarke, Dimitri Leonidas, Riz Ahmed, Imogen Poots, Rachael Stirling

Quintus Dias is a Roman soldier fighting in a war over land when he is captured by the enemy. After his escape, he meets up with a Legion on their way to join the battle.

Selina’s Point of View:

To be honest, I have conflicting feelings about this film.

On one hand, high definition was not a friend to Centurion. I also had some base issues with the script. I got stuck on that “this is neither the beginning nor the end of my story.” Yes it is. It’s the beginning of your damn story. That’s why the movie started there.

I’m not really sure why that phrase annoyed me so much, but it made it hard to take the rest of the movie seriously.

On the other hand, I really liked some of the acting in this film. Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs, A Dangerous Mind, Prometheus), Olga Kurylenko (Magic City, Hitman, To the Wonder), Dominic West (The Affair, The Hour, The Awakening) and Imogen Poots (Filth, Fright Night, Jane Eyre) were the only reason I could even concentrate on the film at all.

Even with great acting, I had trouble enjoying the film.

The problem with my opinion here, is that I don’t think I’m right.

Looking at Centurion objectively, it’s a really good film.

Despite my issues with the script, it really wasn’t bad at all and the characters had significant depth to them. There were twists along the way that should have had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Unfortunately, that’s not the way it was.

Normally, I’d give a confident recommendation, or lack thereof. This time, I can’t do that. I really think I just stumbled over that first monologue and couldn’t get my footing again.

Cat’s Point of View:

I have been looking forward to seeing this movie for a while now. I was fairly bouncy when this was our random result.

I loved the cinematography here – the breadth and scope of the environment captured for the setting of this movie was breathtaking. I truly felt like the protagonists were far from the Roman civilization they’d call home, or any semblance of it.

Can we talk about the action?! It was amazing! The fighting in this film was well choreographed; and the battles were gritty and realistic.

There are so many familiar faces in this film; recognizable across multiple fandoms.

I will admit that my primary draw to this movie was Michael Fassbender (Blood Creek, Jane Eyre, Shame). I first ran across Fassbender in a little known BBC series called Hex (2004-2005).  His character in that series made me want to root for the bad guy a little. I was so excited to see when his career started taking off in more ‘mainstream’ avenues.

Once again, he delivered a superb performance.  He embodied the spirit of his centurion character fighting against the odds, drawing me along with him.

I did mention multiple fandoms, didn’t I? While Fassbender takes care of the Marvel-verse, and even sci-fi enthusiasts that enjoy acid-bleeding aliens, there’s more! Let’s add Doctor Who (2005-),  The Walking Dead (2010-), and even Game of Thrones (2011-).

  

Noel Clarke (Doghouse, Doctor Who, Star Trek Into Darkness), David Morrissey (The Water Horse, The Other Bolyn Girl, The Walking Dead), and Liam Cunningham (Game of Thrones, Clash of the Titans, Safe House) were all enjoyable in their roles beyond the flash of excitement at recognition.

I liked Olga Kurylenko (Erased, Oblivion, The November Man) as Etain in this film. Her performance didn’t resonate quite as well as I would have liked – but it was a difficult role, considering her character was mute and relied on body language alone.

All in all, this was a damn fine film; and I’d recommend it to any who enjoy this genre.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 59%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 42%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 4.5/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 3/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 4/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 4/5

P.S. You can hear wind blowing at the end of the credits, but it does not lead into an extra scene.

Movie Trailer: