Fight or Die

New post is a review for the film Centurion....

It is 117 AD and the Romans are trying to conquer Northern Britain, unfortunately they are coming up against the Picts who are not willing to let them take their land. It is the Roman 7th Legion who are left to try and fight them off, they are headed by General Virilus and a sole survivor of the raid on the battle fort Quintus Dias.

The men are tricked and led into a trap where the whole legion gets wiped out with the exception of 5 men, they are the only men left who now face the last of freeing the General and trying to fight for the land or make it to safety.

Just can these men fight off the Picts when they have a master tracker and will they ever free the General and make it to safety.

I have only been able to give a very brief plot summery for this film as I just don’t want to give too much of the story away but believe me there is so much more to the story and it is not as basic as I have made it out to be and I say it is definitely worth watching. I did not fancy watching this film when hubby spotted the DVD but I did give in and sat down to watch it with him, after the first 5 minutes I have to confess to being totally hooked, I found the story to be excellent and so to was the acting. I think the one thing which made me enjoy this film so much was the effects though. I did at the very start of the film have issues with who was who in the film and what side they were on but after about 10 minutes I found this much simpler to work out, I think I found it so hard as the Romans all spoke perfect English and had English accents despite being from Greece and all over Rome.

The acting was of a very high standard. The lead role was that of Quintus Dias and I found him to be a very strong character, he was played by Michael Fassbender. He showed great courage and strength right from the start of the film and this did not let up for the whole of the film. He delivered all of his lines with ease and made his character very believable. He was likable and did show a slightly softer side towards the second half of the film and I did enjoy this as it showed he was not just a fighter and killer but also a man with feelings and needs. He worked well with the other men who he led and I though they all had a good on screen bond. The other lead role at the start of the film was that of General Virilus, played by Dominic West, he to was a very strong a hard character and bought a lot to the film. I enjoyed watching the different sides to him, he would be a strong leader but the next minute he would be a normal everyday down to Erath man being friendly with his troops and I found this to be quite realistic and made me think a lot more of him.

We did have some other very good actors in the film and the one which really stood out for me was that of Etain, played by Olga Kurylenko, she was an excellent character who was very complex. I loved how strong and independent she was and she was a person who was not to be messed with. She for me was the strongest character in the whole film and showed that women can fight and make a very good job of it. Other actors in the film included, Ulrich Thomsen, Noel Clarke and David Morrissey.

The film was set in Scotland and the North of England and I loved the setting, we did actually have the whole film filmed in England, the setting for the filming was Alice Holt forest in Hampshire and I loved all of the views and scenery which we got. The countryside was amazing and I did actually have a hard time believing we had such amazing places in England. Web had some very spectacular mountain and hill shots and I found all of them a pleasure to watch and they did make the film so much more enjoyable. The costumes were all in keeping with the theme of the film and the year, the Roman uniforms all looked good and so to did the men wearing them. The weapons were also very good and fitting too.

There is a lot of violence in this film and I did actually find some of it very gruesome, we had me being beheaded and stabbed all the way through the film. The make up and effects which were used on these was of a very high standard and I did actually find myself looking away for some of the fight scenes as they were very graphic. I think these scenes were helped by the high level of acting, the actors seemed at ease with the weapons and looked like they genuinely knew how to use them. There was no point in the film when I felt the fights looked staged or choreographed.

The music was also very good, this is a film set in 117 AD and as a result the soundtracks was very orchestral and classical. I loved all of the tracks and found that they did help with the drama, tension and emotions of the film.

The film can be bought on DVD for £7 in Tesco and I do think this is a very fair price. The run time of the film is 93 minutes and I did find this to be a very good length with the story moving at a steady pace from start to finish. The rate is a 15 and I do actually think it should be an 18. There is a lot of violence right from the start of the film and it is very graphical and detailed. I would advise not watching when eating or if you have a sensitive stomach!

I am more than happy to give this film the full 5 stars and a high recommendation. It was a lot better than I thought it was going to be, there is a really good story to it which is helped by the excellent acting. There is loads of action for the male audience and some very good looking men for the female on. I do advise though this is not one for a young audience and personally I would give it an 18 rate.