This is my first review on IMDb. I normally read IMDb movie reviews with great interest, but for this movie I felt that I needed to wright one myself. Although this review contains spoilers and is intended for people who already saw this movie, for those of you who haven't seen this one yet, you might consider reading some of the more critical reviews like this one before making your decision.
I'm a fan of most historical adventure/action movies, and I've seen quite a few. This one tries to be different, but not in a good way. Some things bothered my and did not make sense to me at all, and i'd like to share some of them with you.
First, the action scenes really show the influence of director Neil Marshall (The Descent) with way too much blood and gore relative to the story. I know it might be realistic for battles these days, but it doesn't really add anything to the story.
Second, some plot developments really doesn't make any sense. The first scene in which the Romans are attacked by the Picts, why the hell do they leave Quintus Dias (Fassbender) alive? Because he speaks their language? It did not and does not make sense to me at all.
Third, the introduction of Etain (Kurylenko) is way too short. Who is she? Why is she in the Roman camp? Why can we trust her? We don't know, although the more intelligent viewer might conclude after one minute screen time that she might betray our Roman friends. Surprise! She does...
Fourth, it might be a minor bug but it sure is one for me! When the small group of Romans is attacked by the Picts after being chased 90% of the movie (see next point), they kill the junior scout (don't know actors name) with a spear through his mouth. Then they decapitate him, following the orders of Gorlacon who demanded the heads of our Roman friends after one of them killed his son. While the junior scout is decapitated, Brick is shot in the leg with an arrow. Instead of killing and decapitating him (which would make sense!!) one of the Picts says: ''let him bleed to death''. What the *****. You chase these guys for miles and hours, finally catch them and...one arrow in the leg and bleeding to death is suddenly good enough???
Fifht, the biggest fail in this movie for me is actually the whole plot. Why, after a small war against the Picts which the Picts won by killing a thousand Romans and capturing the general, would you think, would you assume, that a battered group of Romans can infiltrate the Pict camp and release the general. OK, something to do with loyalty, whatever. So they go to the camp, somehow manage to get to the general which, in theory, is impossible, but they can't release him??? OK, must have been some very well constructed metal chain. So they decide to go back (Picts are coming back to camp) but not before one of them kills Gorlacons son. This results in Gorlacon wanting the heads of these Romans. That's not good, not only for the Romans but for the viewers as well. Why? Because the movie transforms into one big chase (of which you know the outcome already at the beginning) in which Etain is some supernatural creature who can track people down in area's of hundreds of square miles. Whatever...After this boring as hell part, the most misplaced subplot I've seen in a long time makes this movie even weaker. One beautiful woman, who happens to live on her own, falls in love with our brave protagonist. Why does she live there? Who is she? Why isn't she dead? Why do these scenes take so ******* long?? And the big question: will our brave Roman see her again (seriously? I mean....oh common!!!!)
So, these things really ruined this movie for me. A weak movie, which tries to be something it fails to be. I hope people who read this review might agree with some elements in my review (although I respect everyones opinion, even the ones who make this movie an oscarwinner). And I specifically hope that those of you who did not see this movie yet, choose a different one. This one will bore you, makes you frustrated and finally makes you bored again.
I'm a fan of most historical adventure/action movies, and I've seen quite a few. This one tries to be different, but not in a good way. Some things bothered my and did not make sense to me at all, and i'd like to share some of them with you.
First, the action scenes really show the influence of director Neil Marshall (The Descent) with way too much blood and gore relative to the story. I know it might be realistic for battles these days, but it doesn't really add anything to the story.
Second, some plot developments really doesn't make any sense. The first scene in which the Romans are attacked by the Picts, why the hell do they leave Quintus Dias (Fassbender) alive? Because he speaks their language? It did not and does not make sense to me at all.
Third, the introduction of Etain (Kurylenko) is way too short. Who is she? Why is she in the Roman camp? Why can we trust her? We don't know, although the more intelligent viewer might conclude after one minute screen time that she might betray our Roman friends. Surprise! She does...
Fourth, it might be a minor bug but it sure is one for me! When the small group of Romans is attacked by the Picts after being chased 90% of the movie (see next point), they kill the junior scout (don't know actors name) with a spear through his mouth. Then they decapitate him, following the orders of Gorlacon who demanded the heads of our Roman friends after one of them killed his son. While the junior scout is decapitated, Brick is shot in the leg with an arrow. Instead of killing and decapitating him (which would make sense!!) one of the Picts says: ''let him bleed to death''. What the *****. You chase these guys for miles and hours, finally catch them and...one arrow in the leg and bleeding to death is suddenly good enough???
Fifht, the biggest fail in this movie for me is actually the whole plot. Why, after a small war against the Picts which the Picts won by killing a thousand Romans and capturing the general, would you think, would you assume, that a battered group of Romans can infiltrate the Pict camp and release the general. OK, something to do with loyalty, whatever. So they go to the camp, somehow manage to get to the general which, in theory, is impossible, but they can't release him??? OK, must have been some very well constructed metal chain. So they decide to go back (Picts are coming back to camp) but not before one of them kills Gorlacons son. This results in Gorlacon wanting the heads of these Romans. That's not good, not only for the Romans but for the viewers as well. Why? Because the movie transforms into one big chase (of which you know the outcome already at the beginning) in which Etain is some supernatural creature who can track people down in area's of hundreds of square miles. Whatever...After this boring as hell part, the most misplaced subplot I've seen in a long time makes this movie even weaker. One beautiful woman, who happens to live on her own, falls in love with our brave protagonist. Why does she live there? Who is she? Why isn't she dead? Why do these scenes take so ******* long?? And the big question: will our brave Roman see her again (seriously? I mean....oh common!!!!)
So, these things really ruined this movie for me. A weak movie, which tries to be something it fails to be. I hope people who read this review might agree with some elements in my review (although I respect everyones opinion, even the ones who make this movie an oscarwinner). And I specifically hope that those of you who did not see this movie yet, choose a different one. This one will bore you, makes you frustrated and finally makes you bored again.