Boudica, the Warrior Queen on Britain, leads her tribe into rebellion against the Roman Empire and the mad Emperor of Rome Nero.Boudica, the Warrior Queen on Britain, leads her tribe into rebellion against the Roman Empire and the mad Emperor of Rome Nero.Boudica, the Warrior Queen on Britain, leads her tribe into rebellion against the Roman Empire and the mad Emperor of Rome Nero.
- Iceni Mother
- (as Cristina Serban)
- Iceni Warrior
- (as Alin Olteanu)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
So who was it for? Historians? hardly; Adults? only for porn value; Kids, only those who have never seen 'The Mummy' or 'Lord of the Rings'- This was like Lord of the Rings done on home video with a cast off the street. There were some talented actors involved, but this was no showcase for their abilities!
Alex Kingston is in commanding form as the flame-haired warrior queen. It's the type of role she is moulded for - feisty and forceful with just a hint of no-nonsense sex. She does seem to look more like Mel Gibson in Braveheart as the film progresses, but her big pep talk to the troops is at least as powerful as Mel's. In the generally fine supporting cast, Gary Lewis is stoutly impressive as a seemingly magically abled priest supporter of Boudica; Jack Shepherd makes the most of the stammering Claudius, and Andrew Lee Potts, despite coming across like a spoilt brat and a half-dressed drag act, has fun with the positively loathsome Nero.
Add in some fairly strong gore, amusing sex and tolerable use of modern language and Boudica falls somewhere between bodice-ripper and historical epic. Good fun all round. 7/10
Romans are painted as arrogant evangelists for the Roman Way and "true" Roman religion -- as decadent in the extreme, by comparison with the virtuous (and bloodthirsty) Celts.
The radical inaccuracies of this picture are instructive. For example, imperial Romans are seen as intensely focused on the illegitimacy of Celtic religion -- real Romans of Nero's time probably wouldn't have cared that much about enforcing their state religion until the subjects were in the economic loop of the Empire. Standard Roman field punishments (e.g., death by slow public crucifiction) are conveniently witheld so that central characters can live on to avenge their humiliation. Roman camps, contrary to the usual marching discipline, are left un-palisaded and conveniently open to attack by the much-feared Britons. And the Celts themselves are turned into some kind of bloodthirsty hippie-clan, where Celt-on-Celt violence is conveniently glossed over and women easily sit at the head of armies.
(BTW, I'm not entirely sure these should be Celts, as they're said to be during the screenplay. But I'm sure someone can come forth in a later review to correct my apprehension...)
And consider: The phrase "terrorism" is bandied about self-righteously at every turn; sober elder-statesmen with a workable plans are subverted by treachery; a devious ruler vetoes the sensible advice of rational military men in favor of a plan that results in needless bloodshed; clerics drive the action behind the scenes, exhorting their leaders to fight for the honor of their god and heritage, against the corruption of their people.
All in all, it's a fairly heavy-handed metaphor for Americo-British imperialism in the Islamic world -- a cautionary fairy tale, if you will.
Oh, and, by the way -- it's a really dumb movie. If the production values were a little higher, it would be a real candidate for a bad movie night.
Did you know
- TriviaFight director Roberta Brown and technical advisor Chris Halstead trained Alex Kingston in sword-fighting and riding a chariot in the suburban neighborhood of Los Angeles. But during training, a policeman arrived. Alex Kingston explained about Boudica, and the policeman, who liked to research historical figures, was impressed asked when Boudica would be on television, and allowed them to continue training.
- Quotes
Boudica: Romans, you are damned. You have awakened the terrible anger of our gods and ancestors, and they will show you no mercy. We will crush your bones into the land you have desecrated. We will slit your veins and watch the blood burst from you and shower down upon our soil. We will swallow you up. And our strong green shoots will spring to life where you once stood.
[pause]
Boudica: See your gods tremble and fall before the wrath of Boudica!
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Story of the Costume Drama: A Call to Arms (2008)
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Warrior Queen
- Filming locations
- Boudica statue, Westminster Bridge, Westminster, London, England, UK(closing scenes in modern day London)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $10,478
- Runtime
- 1h 39m(99 min)
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1