Centurion

Film de chasse historique et d'aventure. Félicitations à Marshall d'être devenu un réalisateur d'acteurs tels que Fassbender, West, Cunningham et Morrissey. Eux, ainsi que les paysages naturels fantastiques l'aident à créer un film divertissant et captivant. Le film n'est pas sanglant et brutal à des fins gratuites, il est réaliste et sa violence s'inscrit dans le concept d'un drame dur, où les principaux personnages sympathiques sont chassés dans la nature par une redoutable vengeresse. Sa colère et sa cruauté sont justifiées, c'est pourquoi son personnage ne suscite pas le dégoût et la haine chez le spectateur, mais la peur et le respect. Moins réaliste est le maquillage et les cheveux coiffés de la belle sauvageonne vivant seule près de la rivière, où elle attrape des poissons pour son petit-déjeuner avec ses propres mains - mais cela nous plonge dans un peu de douceur dans un monde gris désespéré. S'il y avait eu une confrontation finale plus intense, j'aurais envisagé de mettre 4 étoiles. (04/10/2011)

I’m sorry to say that this has been the most boring Marshall. If I were to judge it somehow objectively, I would go no further than seven out of ten points, but with my ugly relationship with historical films (accurate or otherwise), I can’t go over 50%. Centurion is as silly as Doomsday, but to its own misfortune, it takes itself very seriously. The action scenes are unreadable, put together with lots close-ups of chopped, flying or falling human body parts, without any overall view of the battlefield. This year’s winner in the competition of badass historical films is hands down Valhalla Rising. (12/08/2010)

Men vs. Wild. These guys would need a few lessons from Bear Grylls. If they run out of bad luck, they run like hell. When they run, they don't think. They don’t have any of the good sense that is expected from the viewers. Ninety minutes of running, sitting, chewing, blathering (about wounds that can’t be seen and such) and killing. The most obvious thing in the scenes of carnage is the geysers of blood, which bring to light Marshall’s background in horror. There are none of the scary scenes that the situation comprising "a few nobodies in the wilderness" would require. Nor is there any value added beyond the ancient violence. Just as the parallel to the Iraq war, which is also a drawn-out and fruitless endeavour, is luke-warm, the presence of an Arab and a black man on the "team" is contrived. I don’t understand the point of such a film as this, like The Fellowship of the Ring, but with significantly less money and intellect invested in it. Even though the terribly illegible opening credits promise a grand spectacle, there apparently wasn’t enough money left over for money shots and if you’re not turned on by severed limbs, you can look forward only to two women, who are – as always in male fantasies brought to life – mysterious, quiet and sexy. But you don’t need a ninety-minute film for that; just close your eyes for a moment. 50% (19/01/2012)

Objectively, this is probably Marshall's weakest film, but in the "bloody historical carnage" category it's still a strong above-average film. It rests mainly on the director's sense of maximum blood (never mind that it splashes digitally) and charismatic actors. For an hour and a half where nothing actually happens, the film is fully immersive and makes you feel that sometimes there is real beauty in simplicity. (17/08/2010)

Centurion is definitely not a realistic historical drama from the ancient history of building the Roman Empire, but a historicizing fantasy, which takes from real history only what it deems suitable as a starting point for an adventure story. The whole film stays afloat with raw action, albeit being sometimes straightforward and cheaply bloody. There are definitely more blood spatters than would be possible in reality, and the director utilizes contemporary digital technology, so severed limbs fly in all directions and the viewer can also enjoy disgustingly bloody details. The story itself is not complicated, but in terms of action films, the cast is highly above standard, because everyone involved can act and, speaking about the male part of the ensemble, they also have charisma. The female participation in the war campaign somewhat resembles a caricatured Xena, because a barbarian warrior with half a kilogram of makeup, whose eyes drown under such a dose of eyeshadow that even Queen Cleopatra would surely envy her, does not exactly inspire trust in historical fantasy. Not to mention the fact that the participating girls, despite their diligent battle cries and fierce grimaces, come across more like they just stepped out of a fashion show. Overall impression: 55%. (23/10/2010)