Centurion (2010) Movie Review, Trailer, Film Still and Poster

UK 2010
Director: Neil Marshall
Cast: Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, Ulrich Thomsen, Riz Ahmed, Imogen Poots
Rating: R
Language: English, Gaelic
Release Date: 23 April 2010
Running Time: 1 hour 38 minutes

The Movie Review

Centurion film still 1


CENTURION
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There aren't many epic movies this time of year, it's relatively small compared to movies from other genres. And at this time of my writing this movie review, there are only three epic movies playing in Indonesia excluding one almost-epical-but-more-like-biographical movie entitled The Lost Bladesman (2011). The three others are The Eagle (2011) (which soon will also be gone I guess), Ironclad (2011) (that's hasn't even been released in USA) and of course Centurion (2010). So after got hyped and psyched watching Ironclad (2011), I feel kinda obliged to write a review of Centurion and if you haven't seen this, then go now. Go hunt Centurion because for casual moviegoers, this epic historical drama is worth the time and money.

Set in the year 117, the Roman Empire under the leadership of Emperor Hadrian is experiencing severe difficulties for 20 long years in conquering the Island of Britannia which houses a society known as the Picts. The Picts are fierce warriors who will go to any lengths to defend their freedom. And these people are famous (or notorious) for decapitating and collecting their enemy's head as trophy. Julius Agricola, the current governor of Britannia admits that the invasion to Britain is a lost cause but his ambition forces him to dispatch the famous The Ninth Legion under the command of General Titus Flavius Virilus (Dominic West) to invade and conquer the Picts.

The King of the Picts, Gorlacon (Ulrich Thomsen), is a brave man who used to be a simple farmer but after the lost of his wife, he has since sworn vengeance on the Romans .He leads his people with guerrilla warfare strategy which is proved to be effective in holding back the Romans. A Centurion named Quintus Dias which responsible to protect the most northerly garrison of the frontier is captured by Gorlacon and the Picts but Centurion Dias eventually rescued in the nick of time by the Ninth Legion with the help of a foxy excellent tracker from a British Tribe, a mute woman named Etain (Olga Kurylenko).

The Ninth Legion marches forcefully through the woods, but Gorlacon and his men have set up a new technique to "welcome" the Romans. What will happen to the Ninth Legion?

Centurion is an epic film which focuses more on the action side, more specifically on hand-to-hand combat. It doesn't try to bullsh*t us with excessive drama, or unnecessary sex scene or even poetic dialogue. So the movie runs pretty fast in a tight pacing filled with continuous fights. I love it actually, it's engaging and presents us a different tone than other Roman Empire movies which sometimes cluttered with boring dialogues. Nevertheless, there are something (well two things actually) that really sets the movie apart and make Centurion somehow memorable.

Fu*k f*ck and fu*k!! No..., that's not me cursing the movie but believe it or not, that's what you'll hear in Centurion (a movie about Roman Empire). Hmmm... Roman Empire soldiers saying multiple F-words and even some sh*t words? Okay, there goes the illusion of time travel... I wonder, couldn't the writers or the actors refrain themselves just for a little while from saying these out-of-the-place words? It's bad enough the movie does not being presented in Latin (although it's acceptable), but now we have to hear F*ck? Aw dude, what's up with that?!

Cursing words is 1 out of 2 things coming out the shocking department. The second one is the gore! Oooo.... the battles are very brutal which clearly depict men got slaughtered, slashed, stabbed, cut off on the throat or cut off on the middle of the head and also got shot by arrows and many more. It's just brutal, fast and unrelenting in violence. But the sad thing is, the brutality factor is so high that it almost becomes comical and/or over-the-top. It's not something shocking anymore as in Ironclad (for instance). But then again, general moviegoers would likely easily overlook these shocking things.

All things considered, Centurion is one truly entertaining film coming from forsaken genre. Don't try to think so hard about history and simply enjoy the movie, enjoy the beautiful scenery of Scottish Highlands, enjoy the intense battle scenes and enjoy the thrilling action!

> More of the Roman Empire battling the Picts: King Arthur (2004) and The Eagle (2011).