Despite a rather corny ending, negligible music and gore that is, at times, gratuitous rather than helpful or horrifying, Neil Marshall has reason to feel well pleased with this effort.
Its main strengths lie in the performances, characters, and script. Michael Fassbender has really come into his own the last couple of years and he turns in another strong performance as Quintus Dias, the eponymous centurion left to pick up the pieces after the IX Legion is decimated in what is now Scotland and its general is captured.
Among those "pieces" are the strong, earthy Bothos (great performance from David Morrissey), the Numidian Macros (Noel Clarke) and the villainous Thax (JJ Feild). The interaction between them and others is never less than gripping. Meanwhile, the plot moves along briskly, leaving us little time to draw breath. I don't think I looked at my watch once.
Much as I'd love to quote from the better-than-average script, the examples that struck me are, let's say, rather basic. Hear that script for yourself - it's well worth it.
Rating: 7/10 (if IMDb allowed halves, it would be 7.5 out of ten)
Its main strengths lie in the performances, characters, and script. Michael Fassbender has really come into his own the last couple of years and he turns in another strong performance as Quintus Dias, the eponymous centurion left to pick up the pieces after the IX Legion is decimated in what is now Scotland and its general is captured.
Among those "pieces" are the strong, earthy Bothos (great performance from David Morrissey), the Numidian Macros (Noel Clarke) and the villainous Thax (JJ Feild). The interaction between them and others is never less than gripping. Meanwhile, the plot moves along briskly, leaving us little time to draw breath. I don't think I looked at my watch once.
Much as I'd love to quote from the better-than-average script, the examples that struck me are, let's say, rather basic. Hear that script for yourself - it's well worth it.
Rating: 7/10 (if IMDb allowed halves, it would be 7.5 out of ten)