MOVIE: CENTURION

Fatigued by Hollywood’s often blundering, effects-driven blockbusters? Never fear, Neil Marshall’s Centurion, an irreverent, gore-splattered survival thriller, offers salvation. In 117 AD, the legendary Roman Ninth Legion is ambushed and slaughtered by the barbaric Picts while marching through Scotland’s bleak wilderness. Barely surviving the fracas, a motley crew of Roman grunts, and their de-facto leader Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender), struggle to survive behind enemy lines whilst they’re relentlessly pursued by a deadly huntress; the mute Etain (Olga Kurylenko). Respectfully plundering a handful of historical epics, Centurion plays out like Gladiator minus the pretensions of grandeur; 300 sans the macho posturing and oiled pectorals; and Apocalypto without the…well, Mayans. As with Marshall’s previous cult hits (Dog Soldiers, The Descent), Centurion proves the English director has a knack for crafting taut, edge-of-your-seat thrillers that lovingly embrace the tropes of b-grade genre flicks, while distilling them to their core values. Best of all, Centurion is a rollicking good yarn. (JH)