AD 117. The Roman Empire stretches from Egypt to Spain, and East as far as the Black Sea. But in northern Britain, the relentless onslaught of conquest has ground to a halt in face of the guerrilla tactics of an elusive enemy: the savage and terrifying Picts. Quintus Dias (Fassbender), sole survivor of a Pictish raid on a Roman frontier fort, marches north with General Virilus' (West) legendary Ninth Legion, under orders to wipe the Picts from the face of the earth and destroy their leader Gorlacon. But when the legion is ambushed on unfamiliar ground, and Virilus taken captive, Quintus faces a desperate struggle to keep his small platoon alive behind enemy lines. Enduring the harsh terrain and evading their remorseless Pict pursuers led by revenge-hungry Pict Warrior Etain (Kurylenko), the band of soldiers race to rescue their General and to reach the safety of the Roman frontier. A splinter group of Roman soldiers fight for their lives behind enemy lines after their legion is devastated in a guerrilla attack. If you loved "Gladiator" - and, boy, how I loved "Gladiator" - you'll have mourned ever since that there could be no prospect of a sequel since Maximus well and truly bit the dust. The next best thing then is for actor Russell Crowe and director Ridley Scott to get together to portray another heroic fighting figure and so a decade later we have "Robin Hood". While we wait for the man from Sherwood to saddle up, we have the poor man's "Gladiator" in "Centurion", written and directed by Neil Marshall and starring Michael Fassbender in the eponymous role.<br/><br/>"Gladiator" was set at the heart of the Roman Empire in 180 AD; "Centurion" tales place on the edge of the Empire, in northern Britain, in 117 AD. "Gladiator" opened with a stunning battle sequence in which the Romans beat the Germanic barbarians; "Centurion" starts with an even bloodier encounter in which the legendary Roman Ninth Legion is wiped out by the resourceful Picts except for a handful of survivors who then have to fight both warrior and weather to find refuge at Hadrian's Wall. In no respect - script, characterisation, acting, special effects, music - does "Centurion" equal "Gladiator" but there's plenty of action and much blood and then more blood - plus some splendid Scottish scenery and even a Bond girl. I started writing reviews because most of the reviews I read don't actually comment on the entertainment factor of the movie. Rather the reviewers (and I'm not being picky) tend to comment on some aspect of the movie which they liked or disliked etc. <br/><br/>If you like ancient Roman centurion/gladiator films with great fighting scenes, a solid story line, then this is a film for you.<br/><br/>I enjoyed the film immensely because of the story line and for the entertainment value.<br/><br/>This film almost falls in to the "epic" category and I for one have added it to my DVD collection. The plot's pretty thin – even for a gladiator movie. Fortunately, when it comes to crunchy impalings and messy arterial geysers, Marshall's a maestro.
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