The Story:
A Roman Battalion is ambushed and decimated by the Picts, and only one Centurion remains. He manages to escape and meets up with a group of British troops on their way to attack the Picts. They are betrayed by their female Pict guide and are ambushed and slaughtered. Only six men remain and spend the rest of the night fighting for their survival behind enemy lines.
Characters:
The characters in Centurion never really get fleshed out. Little is known about any of them, and their motives are unclear. The main focus on Etain, the mute Pict tracker is developed a bit, but I would have liked to have learned more about her past and the Pict in general. They were such a bloodthirsty ruthless bunch, it would have been cool to see the reasoning behind their motives.
Gore/Special Effects:
Tons of gore! Bright red blood splatters and sprays out of every single sword and axe slash. Heads are chopped in half and clean off. Limbs are chopped off during battle, arrows are shot through eyes. This movie delivered in spades in the gore & special effects department. It was pure joy.
Lasting Appeal:
While the characters could have done with a ton of back story and development, I had fun watching this movie and wasn’t bored for one second. I’m generally a fan of all of Neil Marshall’s other films (Dog Soldiers, The Descent, Doomsday) and this one is no exception.
Final Head Count:
The movie had a quality story for what it was – an extremely violent timepiece. I wanted our heroes to get out and survive, and was loving every minute of Pict slaughter. I was waiting with baited breath for Etain the treacherous, backstabbing Pict tracker to meet the end of a blade. The gore and special effects were awesome and so much fun to watch. I enjoyed myself from the opening credits to the final scenes. I will definitely be adding this film to my collection when it arrives on DVD.
