Centurion – Review

Neil Marshall, Eli Roth, Alejandre Aja, Darren Lynn Bousman, James Wan, Rob Zombie, Leigh Wannell, and Greg McLean make up ‘The Splat Pack’ – a term coined by Alan Jones about a collection of filmmakers, who, since 2002, have directed a large number of horror films. I think all of these gentlemen are talented in their own right, but I’d have to say Alejandre Aja is my favorite, and after careful thought, the individual that I think is the best figure for the future of violent cinema lie in the bloodstained paws of British auteur Neil Marshall.

His movie debut was the 2002 lycanthropic actioneer Dog Soldiers, and he followed it up with what many consider to be his best flick, the claustrophic creature feature The Descent. My personal favorite movie in his ouvre is the kick-ass apocalyptic thriller Doomsday, which sees Marshall traveling back to the early 80′s and pantomiming Escape from New York and The Road Warrior.

Neil Marshall was one of seven directors who were being looked at to take the mantle of this summer’s Robert Rodriguez produced sequel Predators. Suppposedly, he was in “close talks” to direct it. Nimrod Antal [Vacancy] was chosen instead, and Marshall moved forward to write and direct Centurion. Can he continue his streak of winners and keep that batting average at a thousand? Let’s find out.

It’s 1127 A.D., and the Roman Empire is mopping the floor with people left and right in their domination that stretches from Egypt to Spain. They meet their match in the guerrilla tactics of an enemy that has a bone, an arm, a leg, and a head to pick with them – the tribal warriors the ’Picts’.

The Ninth Legion are the equivalent of the Los Angeles Lakers in that we don’t take any crap from anybody world, or in cinematic terms, they are a small version of the 300 Spartans. Led by General Virilus [Dominic West], and Quintos [Michael Fassbender], the lone survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, they charge forward with orders from their head honcho to wipe them out and remove their leader [Gorlacon] by any means possible.

The front lines are headed by a ’scout’ [disguised as a Roman] who is not what she appears to be. Etain [Olga Kurylenko] was born and raised as a ’Pict’ after Romans murdered her parents and sliced her tongue off and raped her as a young girl. She leads them into a gory ambush where Virilus ends up being taken captive and the small band of soldiers must fight an enemy who knows the terrain like the back of their hand.

What works best is Marshall’s command of the ferocious hack and slash combat scenes where the red sauce flies in all directions. The violence is gritty and grounded in reality, giving the scenes real power and realism to them. The film’s polished monochromatic glow gives a rich juxtaposition to the splashes of blood.

However, the overall vibe of the film is hollow as the script gets muddled in the trenches. Who are we supposed to be rooting for here? The Romans are not a likable motley crew of warriors. Sure, they are only doing their job and following orders from their leaders, but their loyalty to them is misplaced and I couldn’t back a clan of ruthless killers. I sided with the impoverished ‘Picts’, who had every right to take out every Roman soldier that they could.

This is by no means a bad film, just a fairly mundane one that is a small dent in Neil’s armor that can easily be fixed. Here’s hoping Marshall comes back with a vengeance and inks a deal with Ghosthouse Pictures and Sam Raimi and makes Burst 3D.

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