Release Date – 8/27/2010 (limited)
It is AD 117 and Centurion Quintus Dias is stationed at a base for Roman soldiers. One night they are ambushed by the rival Picts who are inhabitants of the land they are currently trying to contain. Most Romans are killed but Dias is taken captive to be made an example of. He escapes and is recruited by the Ninth Legion, a deadly Roman brigade comprised of the best soldiers. The General is Titus Virilus and he takes a liking to Dias. They vow to run down the Picts that captured and tortured him. They enlist the services of a mute female tracker named Etain who leads them directly into a trap. The General is captured and now Centurion Dias must lead the remaining men to save him. This movie is pretty brutal. Blood and gore, swords and arrows. And a few fine performances by the lead actors makes this a surprisingly awesome tale of war.
Michael Fassbender (Inglourious Basterds) plays Quintus Dias. He is a strong warrior but seems to get into trouble at every turn. Once his people are killed, the next group he attaches himself to also get ambushed and killed. The guy can’t catch a break. Well actually he can because he always seems to be one of the few survivors. Dominic West (300) plays General Virilus. I love this guy. I’ve seen him in other movies but ever since seeing him as Jimmy McNulty in The Wire, I have loved him as an actor. Once again he’s cocky, funny, and a joy to watch on screen. I’ll say it right now, Dominic West is the MAN! The final lead was Olga Kurylenko as Etain. She had no speaking lines which just added to her badassery. She was a warrior who didn’t take shit from any of the men. Sure, they all wanted a piece of her but don’t let her hotness fool you. She decapitates people in this movie! All three of the lead actors did a great job. Supporting characters were just there to be killed in some really violent ways.
Writer/Director Neil Marshall has never really appealed to me before. I heard The Descent was good but I never saw it. Doomsday was a letdown, it tried to be The Running Man or Mad Max and didn’t live up to the hype. But here he went more realistic and less campy. No more demons in caves or futuristic biker gangs. This is more grounded in reality. The only real negative is period pieces like this have been done to death. Kings and Queens, Generals, Outcasts, Big sword fights, defending the castle. If you’ve seen Braveheart, Gladiator, or even Army of Darkness then you’ve seen different variations of this movie just with tailored scenes to fit a specific character. The slight differences are what made the movie enjoyable. Not to mention the serious amounts of blood and gorey deaths. That catered to my horror fan heart while satisfying my need for an epic war movie also. The summer is coming to a close but I would say this narrowly misses the Top 5 flicks I’ve seen within the last few months.
IMDB – 6.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 57%
Movie Wiseguys – 7.5/10