Review of Centurion (2010) by Joe A — 31 Oct 2012

The last survivors of a Roman garrison wiped out by the Pict warriors whose lands they have invaded attempt to reach friendly territory with a war party in hot pursuit. What we have here is a western which exchanges Romans and Picts for cowboys and indians.

In fact, in Neil Marshall's tradition of ripping off classic films there is more than a nod towards Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid at one point but it has the world weary tone of tough guys sick of war and betrayal rather than the light heartedness of George Roy Hill's film.

The film has a nice gritty quality about it with solid performances from Fassbender and West, although Marshall seems rather more interested in evisceration than characterisation meaning we don't ever really connect to the characters on any emotional level.

There's plenty of glorious scenery to admire however and it's a decent enough historical action film that's no Gladiator, but if you enjoyed King Arthur despite its obvious shortcomings, you should enjoy this too.