Review of Centurion (2010) by Filipeneto — 25 Nov 2018

This film is based on the mysterious disappearance of IX Legio Hispana, one of the Roman legions. We know that it remained a long time in Britain but it's disappearance from the records without any mention has elicited several speculations. This is precisely what this film does, creating a story where it takes advantage of the best known hypothesis for this disappearance: the massacre of this legion in combat. Many classicists disagree with this theory and you can find enough specialized literature on the subject by the hand of the most notable historians, but the fact is that the story created for this film is plausible, which helps to create a pleasant sense of historical accuracy, with some understandable yields when dramatic effect or pragmatic issues prevailed. One of the things that caught my attention was the crystalline similarity between the battle represented in the film and the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where General Varo lost his life and his legions in the time of Augustus. It was, in fact, a good action sequence, with touches of realism that only sinned by the exaggeration, of fake blood used.

The cast was very good. Michael Fassbender was very convincing in the role of a centurion, who survives the carnage and tries to return. Less happy was the idea of making each of the surviving soldiers come from a region of the empire. We have already seen this cliché previously, I believe it was used in the 2004 movie "King Arthur" but I may be wrong (I'm speaking from my fallible memory). Anyway, the idea sounded false. Dominic West, Ulrich Thomsen and Imogen Poots also did a good job but it was the sweeping performance of Olga Kurylenko who dominated the film. She played an extremely cruel and malicious Pictish woman who decided to dedicate her life to avenge herself on the Romans. This barbarian killing machine was an intense enemy and contrasts with the humanity of Poots character, a woman with a past of pain, but kind and of whom we instinctively like.

The production vallues and technical issues also seemed very good to me. In contrary to the current trend, the film virtually waived the green screen and filmed on location, which is a plus point. Action sequences and fights are good, realistic enough and only harmed, as I said, by exaggeration in false blood. It reminded me of the movie "300", where I criticized the emphasis on blood. Of course a battle needs blood but we cannot go into exaggerations, by excess or by defect. I really enjoyed the cinematography. She was able to convey the feel of the period as well as the intense cold that was felt. The color tones were excellent and the contrast adequate. The only negative note is the movie soundtrack. It fulfills its role but ends up being forgettable.

To summarize, this film is very good and considerably better than other films ("Braveheart", "King Arthur" etc.) in the same style, but that ended up becoming more famous and having greater visibility. Historically realistic, it doesn't depict any historical fact but a theory, under discussion, so don't fully believe in the story the film tells, remember this is not a documentary. Entertaining, is a good movie for those who enjoy history and the Roman period, or simply for those who enjoy a good adventure or action film.