Um súbito ataque à fronteira do império na Bretanha deixa apenas Quintus Dias como sobrevivente. Ao lado do general Viriuls, ele marcha rumo ao Norte, no intuito de encontrar seus inimigos e... Ler tudoUm súbito ataque à fronteira do império na Bretanha deixa apenas Quintus Dias como sobrevivente. Ao lado do general Viriuls, ele marcha rumo ao Norte, no intuito de encontrar seus inimigos e eliminar o líder deles, Gorlacon.Um súbito ataque à fronteira do império na Bretanha deixa apenas Quintus Dias como sobrevivente. Ao lado do general Viriuls, ele marcha rumo ao Norte, no intuito de encontrar seus inimigos e eliminar o líder deles, Gorlacon.
- Prêmios
- 1 indicação no total
- Roman Officer Argos
- (as Jake Maskell)
Avaliações em destaque
Director Neil Marshall (The Descent) has crafted a gritty movie that at its core is a simple 'cat and mouse' tale – and a highly entertaining one at that – but becomes much more thanks to the efficacious work from all the cast and crew. Marshall himself executes a few impressive sequences, the most outstanding being the initial ambush on the Ninth Legion, showing once again he knows how to stretch a small budget with minimalistic techniques and a passionate approach. Director of photography Sam McCurdy provides a suitably grimy and grainy look that, although at times is too dim, sets the ideal tone for the film. Perhaps Marshall should have monitored the editing closer though, Chris Gill's frenetic cutting very nearly ruins a couple of the fight scenes.
Major Hollywood star in the waiting Michael Fassbender (played the German-impersonating British Lieutentant in Inglourious Basterds) is undoubtedly the standout among the acting contingent. As the titular soldier, Fassbender makes for a charismatic leading man that convinces in both the physical and dramatic elements of the role. I eagerly wait to see what he does as the young Magneto in the upcoming X-Men prequel. Elsewhere The Wire alumni Dominic West is rough around the edges as the gruff General Virilus, Olga Kurylenko is positively bad-ass as the mute, monomaniacal warrior hell-bent on revenge and BBC favourite David Morrisey adds clout in his supporting role of Bothos.
A grubby, gory delight.
4 out of 5 (1 - Rubbish, 2 - Ordinary, 3 - Good, 4 - Excellent, 5 - Classic)
If you are expecting large scale battles then look elsewhere as ultimately this becomes a chase movie as a small band of surviving Romans are being chased across Scotland by the savage Pict led by Olga Kurylenko.
Kurylenko is fantastic in this, frightening without saying a word. Fassbender is ok, seeming to grow into the role as the movie progresses. He is supported by a band of mainly British actors including David Morrissey. Dominic West steals every scene he is in, in an all too brief appearance.
I was pleasantly surprised with this movie and it just goes to show you don't have to have a huge budget or mammoth running time to create a good movie.
While it is Centurion Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender) who is the protagonist as the somewhat reluctant leader of our heroes, the most memorable character on screen is Etain, a Brigantian tracker played by Olga Kurylenko. Etain's tribe was massacred by the Romans and she took refuge with the Picts. Her backstory is a powerful device that explains all the hatred she has for Romans and the length she will go to exact revenge. Neil Marshall makes great use of actress Kurylenko and she literally eats the screen in almost every scene she is in, despite her character being mute. Etain reaches iconic status as far as I'm concerned, much like Karl Vreski (Die Hard).
The actual plot, despite its historical context, is less Gladiator and more Apocalypto. Several battles are extremely gritty, entering gory territory as blood flows. There are a lot of CGI sequences mixed with traditional effects but they do not detract from the experience too much. Quintus' bunch of survivors are portrayed by a group of effective actors but the movie's short length prevents much characterization. Where Marshall is more effective is in the portrayal of the Picts. In very few words, several characters stand out throughout the movie.
Everything is fairly entertaining but the movie never quite reaches classic epic status due to its short length and several incongruities. For instance, I still don't understand why two healthy and armed soldiers would run away from wolves, nor why wolves would pursue them (that simply flies in the face of anything we know about the behavior of wolves). Etain is also ordered to severe the heads of the men she is chasing but conveniently omits certain characters so that they survive their injuries, which makes no sense and is transparent bad writing. Likewise, when the Romans have a chance to steal or kill the Picts' horses, they simply ignore this opportunity. These plot holes add up pretty fast and detract from our experience, turning what could have been a classic into just a great pop corn flick.
But an entertaining pop corn flick it is, despite its faults! I wish Marshall would be slightly less ambitious, as it seems he is at his best working on smaller scale movies but he still has a knack to shoot fun films and create engaging characters. Special kudos for not glorifying the Roman empire and especially, for not portraying the Picts as clear-cut villains. Although the structure of the film firmly puts the Picts in the "baddies" slot, there are several hints and a lot of subtext that, on the contrary, showcases the Roman empire as bloodthirsty invaders, plotting backstabbers and savages themselves.
Every amateur of sword epic will want to see this one at least once, possibly several times.
With Centurion, Neil Marshall has his biggest budget to date. The film is ambitious in style and tone. Marshall, who get a cult following after two excellent small horror films (Dog Soldiers and Descent) has gone on to bigger, but not really better things. Doomsday was a nice throwback to genre films (even though it didn't really know which one it wanted to be) and now Centurion, which has Marshall tipping his hat to Gladiator and Spartacus.
I consider myself a Marshall fan, which is why I even bothered to give this film a viewing. If his name weren't attached, I wouldn't have bothered. Marshall is apart of the Splat-Pack. The horror coined group for filmmakers like Rob Zombie and Eli Roth. It's no question as to why Marshall is apart of this group, every film of his has some body part ending up some place. It's funny to me that this film might be his most gruesome one yet and it isn't even horror.
The film's most gruesome moments are during the big attack on the romans. Arrows are shot into heads, arms, legs and necks are taken out like a hot knife through butter. I had a few moments where I was actually shocked at the carnage on the screen. One of the more gruesome period pieces. During the attack, the Picts (Scottish) take prisoner the General (Dominic West). The small group of survivors, including Michael Fassbender decide to try and get him back. They fail, but they did succeed in killing the lead Pict's son. He sends a group of people to go after them, thus we have a cat and mouse chase throughout the film.
It's suspenseful in places and aggravating in others. The lead tracker, is suppose to have excellent skills, where she is always on their tail, no matter what. Yet the filmmakers seem to forget this sometimes. She can sense them across the river in one scene, but not underneath her feet in another. These inconsistencies are bothersome. Yet it happens. The characters themselves aren't too memorable either. I couldn't really tell the survivors apart from one another and neither stood out of the crowd. These shortcomings in the script are what bring Centurion down. The most interesting character is killed off too early too.
Yet, Marshall still manages to deliver an entertaining film. It's not near the level of awesome that is Dog Soldiers, or even The Descent, but it does deliver what you would expect from this genre. There are moments where the film loses its sense of direction (such as a lover subplot) and there are even moments of predictability, but as a whole, the film delivers.
Você sabia?
- CuriosidadesNeil Marshall and his director of photography Sam McCurdy spent about two years discussing the look of the film before making it. One thing they were adamant about was that it should be shot on location and nowhere near a green screen.
- Erros de gravaçãoThe chief of the Picts would never have had a shaved head, as long hair and beards were considered what made a man strong and a leader.
- Citações
Centurion Quintus Dias: [narrating] In the chaos of battle, when the ground beneath your feet is a slurry of blood, puke, piss and the entrails of friends and enemies alike, it's easy to turn to the gods for salvation. But it's soldiers who do the fighting, and soldiers who do the dying, and the gods never get their feet wet.
- Cenas durante ou pós-créditosThe end of the closing credits state that "This film is based on a 2000 year-old legend", referring to the mysterious disappearance of the Ninth Hispana or Ninth Spanish Legion in Roman-occupied Britain around 117 CE.
- ConexõesFeatured in History Buffs: Gladiator (2015)
- Trilhas sonorasFort Attack
Composed and arranged by Ilan Eshkeri
Principais escolhas
- How long is Centurion?Fornecido pela Alexa
Detalhes
Bilheteria
- Orçamento
- US$ 12.000.000 (estimativa)
- Faturamento bruto nos EUA e Canadá
- US$ 123.570
- Fim de semana de estreia nos EUA e Canadá
- US$ 42.826
- 29 de ago. de 2010
- Faturamento bruto mundial
- US$ 6.890.432
- Tempo de duração1 hora 37 minutos
- Cor
- Mixagem de som
- Proporção
- 2.35 : 1