Centurion Movie Review
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Much of the violence in recent, popular mainstream movies and historical dramas on TV (Watchmen, Inglourious Basterds, The Tudors and Spartacus to name a few) is far more brutal than your typical horror flick. At least Freddy Krueger makes it quick — some of the beheadings at the behest of Showtime's King Henry the 8th were agonizingly slow and painful.
Writer-Director Neil Marshall's latest gorefest falls somewhere in-between: His love of true horror (he directed the well-regarded supernatural thriller 2005's The Descent) and his passion for action (the Mad Max'esque Doomsday came and went in '08) blend together beautifully in the exceptionally well-cast Centurion.
Muscles-and-armor to-to guy Dominic West is Roman General Virilus of the Ninth Legion, brawny-yet-brooding actor Michael Fassbender is the centurion of the title, and the mysterious and dangerous woman-warrior they orbit is the mute and mad Pict, Etain (Olga Kurylenko). The supporting cast — though doing little more than aggressively killing everything in sight — is tight. Standouts include Imogen Poots as witch-in-exile Arianne, Riz Ahmed as the cook who's just a little too good with kitchen utensils, and Axelle Carolyn as a piqued Pict.
One of my favorite indie DPs (Sam McCurdy, who shot The Descent and also the gorgeous-looking Dread) is behind the camera, and he takes full advantage of the sweeping scenery, glinting metal, and stampeding steeds: Centurion feels like a much more expensive movie than it really is.
To be honest, this isn't a heavy historical story of strategists, nor is there a lot of character development (though attempts are made to humanize and layer some of the fighters and lovers, this just isn't that kind of movie). But the blood flows freely, the fireballs rage, and the slings and arrows are deadly accurate. What's more, the ending rocks — best downbeat finale I've seen in a long time.
Bringing to mind a super-slick and impeccably presented hybrid of 80s fantasy actioners like The Beastmaster, Conan The Barbarian, and The Red Sonja, then splicing in some Gladiator, Lord of the Rings and 300 swords and sandals epics, Centurion does just what it sets out to do: Entertain.
Centurion is in theaters on various dates in limited release, and video-on-demand July 30.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson
Stay tuned for Horror.com's exclusive on-camera interview with Neil Marshall and Axelle Carolyn talking about Centurion, and Ghost of Slaughterford (her directorial debut).
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