Christopher Webster [Celluloid 02.12.10] movie news action adventure history



I think Neil Marshall is one of the best UK directors working today and this trailer does not disappoint. I can't wait to see what he's done with Centurion, his new "Roman chase film" about a group of soldiers that have to fight for their lives behind enemy lines. Plus, could you ask for a better cast then Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko?

Synopsis:
Centurion is an epic action adventure film set in 117 AD about a group of Roman soldiers who must fight for their lives behind enemy lines after their legion is decimated in a devastating guerrilla attack.

IGN scored the trailer for the film. Centurion opens in the UK on April 23. Still no idea on when it opens anywhere else though.

Trailer after the break.

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Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

"one of the best UK directors working today"....er......o...k!! Because Doomsday was such a great film eh? I'm all for people wearing their influences on their arms, but jeez...Doomsday was truly truly awful, i cringed so hard i thought my asshole had closed up for good. As for Centurion, based on the trailer, i would say this is a huge leap in the right direction for Mr Marshall.

Rob (10 years ago) Reply

I guess anonymous hasn't seen Dog Soldiers or The Descent then!

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

olga. :]

agentorange (10 years ago) Reply

Doomsday was awesome. Straight up. Post-modern sure, but a great hard-edged action flick with a soft PA center that didn't pander to anyone. I'd watch 100 Doomsdays over 28 Days Later anyday, but that's just my taste. Marshall's got some serious chops. Easily one of the best UK directors around right now. Again, if you like his kind of movie.

Michael Bartlett (10 years ago) Reply

Looks absolutely kick ass!

arnold (10 years ago) Reply

The painted hot Pict warrior babe is getting old since the movie King Arthur. I'm hoping this will be a good gritty tale of Roman Legionnaries. The soldiers surviving story was sorta done already by Marshall in Dog Soldiers though and also in the movie King Arthur. Hope this one adds a different scenario to it. Didn't care much for Doomsday.

thepeoplesmovies (10 years ago) Reply

the movie is out April 23rd not march. Doomsday was ok but not great, but great in the fact was partly film in glasgow, scotland near where I live!!! Dog soldiers were good so was the descent. As in whose great directors we all have our favourites and even ones regarded as the best even they do have the tendancy to make crap movies

agentorange (10 years ago) Reply

@arnold

When I watched the trailer I too thought that it seemed like Dog Soldiers with Romans. That might be a good thing- Marshall going back to his roots. He may be more conformable with a smaller movie.

rek (10 years ago) Reply

So we're supposed to cheer for the imperialist conquerors and boo the native freedom fighters?

agentorange (10 years ago) Reply

Yeah, but in the movies any small group that is set upon by a larger one is automatically who you root for. Like in ZULU.

Klaw (10 years ago) Reply

Ugh, Doomsday was an embarassment. Descent overrated, Dog Soldiers meh. This has potential but tired of Marshall getting endless praise for Uwe Boll level action with a lot of clever references, which is all Doomsday and Descent were.

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

Just a question, wouldn't a roman centurion have a fighting technique advantage over a savage barbaric ?

witchman (10 years ago) Reply

technically yes, a Centurion would. But history tells us different, as the above scenerio is based on fact.

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

doomsday better than 28 days later? u gotta be shittin me.

rek (10 years ago) Reply

"The painted hot Pict warrior babe is getting old since the movie King Arthur." - arnold

One movie, using a bit of historical accuracy in that department, makes it 'old'? Maybe the Picts in this should have been black midgets, that would be new and fresh right?

JackCrow (10 years ago) Reply

Doomsday was an utter garbage, comparing it with something like 28 d/w/m later is very strange to hear form someone who has seen a lot of pa and runs a site dedicated to it.

However the hot warrior factor is immensly stupid.
I mean what, she could have looked like that torugh all the hardships that particular time or any has to offer, gtfo, no way.
A bit of realism would not hurt from time to time.
Cliché is repeating and repeating, they get some slim blonde/brunette/redhead to capture the men and then go to plot the plot, usually revolving around falling in "love", treachery, she is "in charge" with a ton of Chanel makeup, get real guys.

Shiny armour, new mink coats, and barbarians with perfectly cut clean hair did not exist.

So... this fails too.

FICTIS (10 years ago) Reply

A bit of education about film budget and level of control might be important at some point. Nowadays, there are very high budget films or high budget films where the director does not have full control, mind you, because it's still an industry and the producers and investors care more about payback than quality, middle to low budget films where there can be more control given to the director but still, nowadays, those films are having a very hard time making money and will most likely become either high budget productions or very low budget ones. And there are no-budget films (under 1M$) that do not have a budget big enough to pay for every expenses where the director usually gets all the creative latitude but still will be limited by the budget anyhow. There is a world of difference between Dog Soldiers and Doomsday and the budget linked to the level of control the director had on each production is closely related to that fact.
You can, of course, if you like, make a comparison of both but it would be unfair to judge them without keeping that in mind. If some people thought the two films where helmed the same way by the director and that he had the same creative freedom for both they are wrong, there are good points to Doomsday but the producer's/investors touch is more than visible, no doubt about it.

lbj (10 years ago) Reply

I'm with Agentorange -- I LOVED Doomsday and Marshall kicks ass. I can understand if one doesn't like Doomsday because it's not for everyone. But what a fucking beautiful ride.

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

It`s a trap! LMAO

Kal Verd (10 years ago) Reply

I saw the film at a test screening a few weeks ago and i enjoyed it very much, there were a few small issues i had with it including how the film ended. For me it was far to obvious, although as it was a test screening fingers crossed it will be changed slightly. The lead female Pict by the name of Etain was for me the best character in the film, i found a few of the characters a little one dimensional. But overall i think fans and non-fans alike should enjoy the film when its finally released.

horrorfan (10 years ago) Reply

Hmmmm, The Warriors set in Roman times.I just hope there's a scene where the hero is chased by a guy in facepaint, turns around and says "I'm going to take that spear, shove it up your ass, and turn you into a popsicle."

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

I saw this at a test screening, too, last year. It had a temporary soundtrack, subtitles where they were going to ADR, it hadn't been properly graded and it was generally rough around the edges, but I still enjoyed it. Hopefully they fixed what felt like a very rushed ending and balance out the character development and action. Will definitely be checking it out in the theatre.

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

Looks like a decent action movie, but I hope that one day someone does some justice for Boudica's revolt. She was a queen raped by romans and watched her own children raped and slaughtered in front of her. She led a revolt against the Romans but it was short lived when I believe it was like 400,000 thousand of the British folk were slaughtered including all families traveling with the army by 10,000 Roman Legionares (bad tactics to face them in the open/should have continued raiding them in the forest). Not sure if this is what it is based on, but it sure looks like that.

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

Peaple, please, dear lord, stop talking about the descent like it was amazing. The director stole the creatures, the premise (loosely), and EVEN THE FREAKING NAME from the 1999 novel "The Descent" by Jeff Long.

I wouldnt have minded, were i not witness to an interview where the director actually used a quote from the book to describe the creatures he "invisioned". Seriously, after reading the book, its infuriating to see it so blatantly ripped off constantly.

Anonymous (10 years ago) Reply

I don't think he could have ripped off a book he never read.

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