A great deal of time in the Roman-era war movie Centurion, written and directed by Neil Marshall (Doomsday, Dog Soldiers), is spent dwelling on hacking, dripping, slicing, and stabbing. The camera zooms in as arrows go through eyes, hands fall off arms, and axes chop at necks until the victim’s head is loose. Part of the film’s mission, it would seem, is to show ancient combat as it was, all in the name of historical realism. The problem with Centurion, however, is that the blood and guts are not supported by a story that transcends their visual effect. The movie is so loaded down by its taste for disgusting gore, that the story – about a handful of Roman soldiers being hunted down by Pict natives in Northern England – seems almost incidental, if inconsequential.
The Romans in question are part of a legion of soldiers stationed on the northern British frontier during the time of Emperor Hadrian. On patrol, their unit is ambushed by Pict warriors, who slaughter all but a handful of men. These men, led by Centurion Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender – Inglorious Bastards, 300), try to rescue the captured Roman general, only to kill the chieftain’s son by mistake, thus inciting the chief to launch a hunting party to chase them down. The party is led by Aeron (Axelle Carolyn), a mute warrior woman with frazzled hair, a Hollywood body, and a costume that seems pulled from the Xena: Warrior Princess dressing room. She is some kind of sorceress, and as she hunts down the men, there is some overdubbed dialogue that blabbers about the life of soldiers, the nature of war, etc. In terms of dialogue and characters we never really get out of the realm of boyhood adventure story. On its own terms, that’s fine, and there are some moments in the chase that are genuinely compelling. But the real problem is that it is never clear what kind of movie Centurion wants to be.
The first clue comes in the form of the opening credits, which are big and bold in a Lord of the Rings-style font, and like the start of some big adventure story, they fly across the screen as an aerial camera swoops across the majestic northern English countryside. The title graphics, however, seem cheap and under-produced, like Centurion is some big blockbuster that didn’t quite raise the funds for its budget. Then, the film cuts to the first scene that takes place in a Roman garrison that looks like a stage set. A Roman soldier wanders the walls, reflecting about the state of things like a sentry in a Shakespearean drama. So we are going to get a war movie that keeps its focus on the strong characters that propel the story? Not really. Centurion proves to be neither blockbuster nor historical drama, instead settling for something more like a dramatized match of Dungeons and Dragons. Which means it may eventually find cult appeal in some circles, perhaps with aficionados who keep jars of fake blood ready.
