Centurion (review)

I have just watched Centurion on DVD last week, so this is my review about this film.

Many films have told about the Roman emperor on taking over the European land, of course Gladiator and 300 I the most well-known film that appoint that theme. In 2010, Centurion came with the almost-same theme with two films above. If Gladiator and 300 tell about the Roman itself, in Centurion shows us the Roman’s story that wants to get a handle of the Britannia. The story based on 117 A.D and it is about the Roman, which is heading to the north to face the Scotland’s Pict.

The story begin when a Roman legion was escape from the Pictish. Centurion Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender) is the only survivor of a Pictish raid and is taken prisoner by Vortix. Quistus Dias used to guard the Roman’s territory. After his escaping, he dispatches the Ninth Legion, to the front under General Titus Flavius Virilus, with orders, from the Roman Governor of Britannian, to go to the north to eradicate the Pictish threat, providing him with a mute female Brigantian scout, Etain. Even it seems easy ealy, but actually they get a huge problem when they are aware that Etain betrays them all to the Picthish king, Gorlacon. Etain, who hate the Roman after the murder of her family, gives them another trouble because all of ways that she gave actually the traps. One by one Roman’s legion dead, and it leaves, Dias, Tarak, Macros, Ubriculius, Thax, Leonidas, and Bothos, as the only 7 survivor.
The rest legion continues their journey to face the Pictish, even Etain and the Picts are looking for them and want to clean them up. The Roman survives in the snowy-mountain, then they through the forest. Once again, Etain can catch them when they face the stream, without any consideration the Roman jumps into the stream, but Tarak is killed by the Pict archer Aeron before he can make the jump. When Dias, Ubriculius, Leonidas and Bothos catch the land, they realize that they are eparated with Marcos and Thax. Dias and his group continue the trip, but once again they miss one member because Leonidas is killed by the Picts. With the rest of the member, Dias, Bothos and Brick happen upon a hut in the forest and befriend Arianne, a Pictish exile accused of witchcraft, who lives there. She shelters them, provides food and medical attention to the injured Bothos and when Etain comes the following day Arianne hides Dia and his group under the floorboards, on the way to save them from the Picts. After Etain leaves Arianne’s home, Dias directly decide to move on but she prevents him and ask him to stay once more night and in the next morning she will prepare some needs for Dias and his group to fight back Etain and the Pictish. In the other side, Marcos and Thax are running from the wolves but the unpredictable Thax’s action, he breaks Marcos’ leg, and then leave him with the wolves.
In the following journey, Dias and hi group find a Roman’s forgotten-fort. Then, they decide to stay and wait for Etain and the Picts. After that, like our prediction, Etain and the Picts pass that way and there comes a war between Dias’ Roman and Etain’ Pictish. The warfare has won by the Roman, and Dias is the only one survivor from that war.

Dias return to the Roman’s Kingdom, but when Dias enters the camp he reports the situation to the governor. Agricola, concerned that, should news of the Legion's annihilation become common knowledge, other tribes may rise up against them, and also not wishing his record to be tainted by a military failure, decides that it would be better if the Ninth Legion's fate remained a mystery and thus Dias must be killed.
Dias feels disappointed with that decision then the stabbed Dias goes to the Arianne’s cottage and wants her to take care of him. Arianne heals all of Dias’ wounds and happy with Dias’ decision.

Overall, in my opinion Neil Marshall’s Centurion runs monotone and the way of the story was easily predicted. I felt 90 minutes bored, then as the other war-emperor film, Centurion failed to bring something new and fresh or we can say all these parts from this film we have met it in the other ones. But, I think it is a good film for you who want introduce yourself with the early-birth of the United Kingdom and the early of A.D.

"This is neither the beginning nor the end of my story" is the good quote that I got from this film which appears at the start and the end of the film. Based on this review, so I think I can give a rate this film 2, 5 from 5 scales.