Centurion
Review submitted by David Tredler
Film projects often come by pairs. When a producer or a director starts working on a movie, it is not that rare that another producer or director starts working on a feature sharing a similar subject. It often happens in Hollywood (Deep Impact and Armageddon), it happens in the indie world (Capote and Infamous), and sometimes it happens in Europe too.
Neil Marshall and Kevin Macdonald are two very different directors, but both directed a film about the mythical Ninth Legion of Rome last year. Macdonald’s film, entitled The Eagle, will be released in a few months, but Marshall’s Centurion has already invaded Europe, and is now upon North America. Well, when I say "invaded Europe", I exaggerate a bit, as the film wasn’t exactly a big success, and it is highly probable that The Eagle will find a bigger audience than Centurion when it is finally released.
The central character of Centurion is Quintus Dias, the only survivor of a Fort attack by Pict warriors. This is Britain, during the glorious days of Rome, when the world famous city was ruling the Mediterranean region and part of Europe. The Roman Legion is going north and north in Britain, facing the Pict people, full of fearless warriors ready to defy Rome. After surviving the attack, the centurion Quintus Dias crosses path with the Ninth Legion, reputed to be the most dangerous and feared Legion of soldiers Rome has in store. The Ninth chases the Pict enemies, before realizing – far too late – that it may be the other way around.
After tackling werewolves (Dog Soldiers), creepy cave creatures (The Descent) and futuristic cannibals (Doomsday), Neil Marshall leaves the horror and supernatural to focus on an epic adventure (some might even say action). It may be a strange change of genre, to go from the scares to the Roman Legions, but Marshall’s style is still very present, as deep down, Centurion is not such a distant cousin from Marshall’s other films. Essentially, this new film is, like the previous ones, a survival quest, a A "Run for your life!!!!" movie. Our centurion and a bunch of other soldiers quickly find themselves alone in the Britannic forests, with Pict warriors on their tails. Which is clearly the limit of Centurion, a rather pleasant adventure, but an adventure that does not really manage to go beyond a linear narration that is almost too predictable.
This is not bad cinema, but when watching it, you wonder what the director expects you to collect from his film. Probably just a nice epic that lacks ambition. Too bad, because it had a good setting and could have relied on the strong presence of quickly rising actor Michael Fassbender. Peter Macdonald’s The Eagle shouldn’t have much trouble making us forget about Centurion.
2 / 5 stars
