Review of Centurion (2010) by John D — 15 Dec 2010

Centurion is exactly what happens when a horror director is given reins on a period piece: Dark Ages Predator. Instead of playing like Gladiator, Centurion plays like a slasher flick with a larger costume budget. Honestly, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, and Centurion may have breathed a bit of new life into the subgenre. Lack of humour, B-movie effects and good characters, however, keep it from acheiving its complete potential.

Centurion follows a group of Roman soldiers of the Ninth legion running through the woods after a devastating attack by the Picts. We are supposed to view the Picts as the bad guys of course, despite the fact that they are the ones defending their land. We forget this because the Romans are the ones with British accents.

In slasher-style films, its important to have standout characters, and this is Centurion's greatest fault. Michael Fassbender is great in supporting roles or ones where he can unleash his inner sarcastic prick, but he is wasted in the more solemn leading man role. Dominic West fares much better as the tough-as-nails general of the ninth legion. Olga Kurlyenko is a bit too dainty to be taken seriously as main antagonist Etain. The rest of the crew do little to distinguish themselves, and are not helped by the fact that the only two who do stand out are the first to be killed.

If you're looking for blood, blood you shall get. Too much in fact, and it all kind of looks like pink dye and corn syrup. In a Friday-the-13th kind of way it is amusing, but when a man bumps his head into a tree and his head explodes, you know realism is out the window. Director Neil Marshall has a horror pedigree and it shows.

Despite its faults, Centurion is worth a look for slasher fans looking for something different. Like really different. Anyone looking for something along the lines of Gladiator is bound to be disappointed, and those with just general interests have better specimens of both genres available to them.