Film File - Centurian

In the year AD 117, the Roman Empire stretched from Egypt to Spain, and east as far as the Black Sea. But on the Empire's northern doorstep in Britain, the relentless onslaught of conquest ground to a halt in face of the guerrilla tactics of an elusive enemy: the savage Pict tribes who dominated the Scottish heartland beyond the control of the Rome. Quintus (Michael Fassbender), sole survivor of a savage Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, marches north with General Virilus' (Domnic West) legendary Ninth Legion, under orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the earth and destroy their leader, Gorlacon (Ulrich Thomsen). However, in the depths of the heavily forested highlands, the legion is ambushed on unfamiliar ground, and Virilus taken captive. Quintus faces a desperate struggle to keep his small band of fellow Roman survivors alive behind enemy lines, evading Pict pursuers led by the remorseless Etain (Olga Kurylenko) over harsh terrain, as they race to rescue their general and reach the safety of the Roman frontier forts. As a north of England native who grew up at one end of Hadrian's Wall in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, director Neil Marshall spent his childhood exploring the old Roman roads which still run parallel to the massive structure, and five years ago, began to formulate an idea of making a film about the legend of the Ninth Legion, which marched into the mists of Scotland and vanished without a trace. Why would an Empire whose footprint stretched across all of Europe need to construct a wall at the base of the Scottish territory in the first place - what were they protecting themselves from? Marshall imagined that the legendary Picts, believed to have populated the Caledonian mountains around the 1st Century, might have ambushed the Legion, leaving only one survivor who has to fight his way back home through enemy territory. The director saw the film as a homage to the classic John Ford westerns with the Romans replacing the cavalry and the Picts as the Apaches. As the director of blood-soaked movies like 'Dog Soldiers' and 'The Descent', Marshall admits his latest will be no different with "gore, a bit more gore, then a sprinkling of blood on top". In the same vein as period action films like 'Braveheart', '300', 'Gladiator' or 'King Arthur', 'Centurion' is an all-out actioner - a chase movie where one man's wits and cunning are pitted against an enemy who holds all the cards. From the school of traditional filmmaking where plot and character play lead fiddle to any distracting emotional subplots, Marshall here has a chance to emulate Mel Gibson's 'Braveheart' and examine, in blood-drenched detail, an episode of historical mystery allowing him maximum flourish for invention. Killarney native Fassbender, fast becoming a serious player in Hollywood, acquits himself well as the resourceful Roman - a cool, clean hero with pectorals perfectly in tune with his growing action man image. Kurylenco as the ruthless Etain speaks little in the film - a fact that only adds to her fearsome image - truly a female capable of outsmarting all-comers in this otherwise male-dominated movie. After an opening set-piece ambush that ably matches the forest battle in 'Gladiator', 'Centurion' hits the ground running as the Romans engage in a constant series of escape manoeuvres followed by swordfights and arrow-dodging at every turn. One sequence involving a mountainside chase is one of the most thrilling pieces of cinema so far this year. Urgency and pace are the hallmarks of a Marshall production, and he delivers this in spades. A word to the wise, however, 'Centurion' is a gorefest and will not work well for those of a sensitive disposition. As 'guy flicks' go, though, this one is top of the heap.