Centurion (film)
Encyclopedia
Centurion is a 2010 British action thriller film directed by Neil Marshall
, loosely based on the supposed disappearance of the Roman Ninth Legion
in Caledonia
in the second century CE. The film stars Michael Fassbender
, Olga Kurylenko
and Dominic West
.
, the original inhabitants of the Scottish Highlands
. The Picts, under their king, Gorlacon, are perfecting guerrilla warfare
and are eliminating Roman outposts one by one. Centurion Quintus Dias is the only survivor of a Pictish raid and is taken prisoner by Vortix. In the meantime, Agricola, the Roman governor of Britannia
wants to obtain favour with the central administration, hoping to secure a transfer back to the comforts of Rome. He dispatches the Ninth Legion
to the front under General Titus Flavius Virilus, with orders to eradicate the Pict threat, providing him with a Brigantian
scout, a mute woman, Etain.
As the legion marches north, they encounter Dias, who has escaped but has been pursued by three of Gorlacon's men. After killing the Picts and saving Dias, Virilus learns of Dias's encounter with Gorlacon, as well as his escape from the Picts' settlement, and he proudly makes Quintus one of his centurions. Dias soon meets and befriends two Roman officers in the legion, a veteran named Bothos and a young Roman soldier named Thax.
Etain, who hates the Romans for murdering her family, betrays the legion to the Picts; the Romans walk into a trap and are annihilated, while the general is captured by Pictish warriors. Dias, Bothos, and Thax, along with four other survivors, a veteran named "Brick", two Greco-Roman legionaries named Macros and Leonidas, and Tarak, a cook from the Hindu Kush
, learn that Virilus has been taken prisoner and set out to rescue him. After a few days' travel, they find the Pict settlement and sneak in at nightfall. They silently kill several sentries, but fail to break the general's chains; he orders them to leave him and get back to the safety of Roman territory. As they retreat, Thax kills Gorlacon's young son and recovers General Virilus's helmet. The next morning, after the dead boy is cremated, the general was killed. The Picts, angry with the murder of the child,decides to send a team under Etain to kill the escaping Roman soldiers.
After several days' pursuit, Etains team of Picts eventually catch up with the fugitives, who jump off a cliff into a river. Tarak is killed by Aeron and another Pict archer before he can jump; the others survive the fall, but Macros and Thax end up separated from the others, discover Tarak's body floating down the river, and are pursued by a pack of wolves.
With night falling, Dias and his group camp for the night, only to realize that their trackers have set up camp nearby. Dias and Brick launch a night raid on the enemy camp, killing two men and severely wounding a third, but do not find Etain. Interrogating the wounded Pict, Quintus learns of the death of Gorlacon's son, and that the king has sworn vengeance on their heads. He also learns that Etain has launched her own attack on the Roman camp. He and Brick finish off the Pict and return to their camp, only to discover that Leonidas was killed and Bothos injured.
Macros and Thax, meanwhile, are still running from the wolves, with Macros, the faster runner, staying well clear of Thax. As the two Romans run across an open field with the wolves in close pursuit, Thax eventually falls and cries out to his comrade for help. When Macros returns to help him, Thax slices through Macros' hamstrings to prevent him from running, allowing Thax to escape while the wolves attack and devour his former comrade.
Dias, Bothos and Brick happen upon a hut in the forest and befriend Arianne, a Pict exile accused of witchcraft, who lives there. She shelters them, provides food and medical attention, and tells Dias that Etain has been born to fill her empty soul with Roman blood. When Etain comes the following day, Arianne confronts her while the Romans hide under the floorboards, forcing Etain to leave infuriated. The next morning, with Bothos well enough to travel, they leave Arianne, who, having developed something of a connection with Dias, provides them with additional food, to travel to a nearby garrison.
On arrival, they find it abandoned: an order on a wall informs them that Roman troops have retreated south, to set up a new defensive line, by the orders of Emperor Hadrian. As they see Etain and her group of Picts approach, they set up a defensive position inside the fort. Bothos kills Vortix and a female Pict warrior, Dias kills Etain and two Picts, and Brick kills Aeron and the last Pict warrior. However, before the Picts are defeated, Brick is killed by a spear thrown from Etain.
Camping overnight on their way south, Dias and Bothos are reunited with Thax and the trio continue onwards. Upon reaching Hadrian's Wall
, Thax threatens Dias, who says that he will report his crimes and the two fight, with Dias as the victor. Bothos, riding joyfully towards the Roman construction works, is mistaken for a Pict and shot by Roman archers. When Dias enters the camp he reports the situation to the governor. Agricola, concerned that, should news of the Legion's annihilation become common knowledge, other tribes may rise up against them, and also not wishing his record to be tainted by a military failure, decides that it would be better if the Ninth Legion's fate remained a mystery and thus Dias must be killed.
The governor tries to get Dias killed but he manages to survive. He comes to know the governor's evil intent and a frustrated Dias returns to the hut of the witch- Arianne.Arianne feels happy to see him back. The movie ends here.
under the working title
Ninth Legion. The Ninth Legion, so the story goes, marched into Scotland
from York with over 3,000 men and disappeared. In recent years, historians have disputed the fate of the legion; some believe they were disbanded, while others believe they were massacred in Germania or in the East fighting the Persians during the early years of the second century. Marshall said of his take of the story, "It's not meant to be historically perfect. I'm picking up on a legend and exploring it... it's an action thriller." The tide of academic opinion seems to be returning to the view that the Legion was probably wiped out in Britain. In a recent book, Dr Miles Russell of Bournemouth University
observes that there is strong evidence for a catastrophic British war resulting in the annihilation of the legion early in the reign of Hadrian.
Filming began toward the end of February 2009. Filming locations included the Scottish locations Badenoch
, Strathspey
, and Glenfeshie Estate in the Cairngorms
. Filming also took place at Ealing Studios
in London
and in Surrey
locations, such as Alice Holt Forest and Hurtwood Forest in the Surrey Hills
. Historical reenactment
groups were enlisted to play Picts and Roman soldiers in the practical filming at Badenoch and Strathspey. Filming was completed in March, after seven weeks.
The production was designed by Simon Bowles
with art direction by Jason Knox-Johnston. The sets were built by DRS Construction.
The film was screened on 18 March 2010 at the South by Southwest Film Festival as the "Super Secret TBD" film. It was also the opening night premiere for the inaugural ActionFest
film festival. The film was released on 30 July 2010 as video on demand
on the Xbox Live Marketplace
and Amazon.com
.
, it currently has a 56% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes
. The Birmingham Post gave the film two stars out of five saying "this hideously violent, formula one chase movie lacks the novelty of Mel Gibson
's Apocalypto
". Empire Magazine gave the film three stars out of five stating that the film "could have done with a lot more character-meat on those bones." Film4
gave the film two stars out of five stating "It's just a shame none of this stuff was thought through a little more carefully, because there's a talented cast here who have been hung out to dry." The Guardian
gave the film two stars out of five stating that "this is exercise-bike cinema: energetic, relentless and tipping towards monotony".
Neil Marshall
Neil Marshall is an English film director, editor and screenwriter. Marshall began his career in editing and in 2002 directed his first feature film Dog Soldiers, which became a cult film. He followed up with the critically acclaimed horror film The Descent in 2005...
, loosely based on the supposed disappearance of the Roman Ninth Legion
Legio IX Hispana
Legio Nona Hispana was a Roman legion, which operated from the first century BCE until mid 2nd century CE. The Spanish Legion's disappearance has raised speculations over its fate, largely of its alleged destruction in Scotland in about 117 CE, though some scholars believe it was destroyed in the...
in Caledonia
Caledonia
Caledonia is the Latinised form and name given by the Romans to the land in today's Scotland north of their province of Britannia, beyond the frontier of their empire...
in the second century CE. The film stars Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender is an Irish-German actor. He is best known for playing Lt. Archie Hicox in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Magneto in the superhero blockbuster X-Men: First Class...
, Olga Kurylenko
Olga Kurylenko
Olha Kostyantynivna Kurylenko , better known as Olga Kurylenko, is a French actress and model. She is perhaps best known as the Bond girl, Camille Montes, in the 22nd James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. She also portrayed Nika Boronina in the movie adaptation of the video game Hitman...
and Dominic West
Dominic West
Dominic Gerard Fe West is an English actor best known for his role as Detective Jimmy McNulty in the HBO drama series The Wire.-Film and TV:...
.
Plot
It is AD 117 and the Roman garrisons are struggling to contain the PictsPicts
The Picts were a group of Late Iron Age and Early Mediaeval people living in what is now eastern and northern Scotland. There is an association with the distribution of brochs, place names beginning 'Pit-', for instance Pitlochry, and Pictish stones. They are recorded from before the Roman conquest...
, the original inhabitants of the Scottish Highlands
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
. The Picts, under their king, Gorlacon, are perfecting guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
and are eliminating Roman outposts one by one. Centurion Quintus Dias is the only survivor of a Pictish raid and is taken prisoner by Vortix. In the meantime, Agricola, the Roman governor of Britannia
Britannia
Britannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
wants to obtain favour with the central administration, hoping to secure a transfer back to the comforts of Rome. He dispatches the Ninth Legion
Legio IX Hispana
Legio Nona Hispana was a Roman legion, which operated from the first century BCE until mid 2nd century CE. The Spanish Legion's disappearance has raised speculations over its fate, largely of its alleged destruction in Scotland in about 117 CE, though some scholars believe it was destroyed in the...
to the front under General Titus Flavius Virilus, with orders to eradicate the Pict threat, providing him with a Brigantian
Brigantes
The Brigantes were a Celtic tribe who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England, and a significant part of the Midlands. Their kingdom is sometimes called Brigantia, and it was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire...
scout, a mute woman, Etain.
As the legion marches north, they encounter Dias, who has escaped but has been pursued by three of Gorlacon's men. After killing the Picts and saving Dias, Virilus learns of Dias's encounter with Gorlacon, as well as his escape from the Picts' settlement, and he proudly makes Quintus one of his centurions. Dias soon meets and befriends two Roman officers in the legion, a veteran named Bothos and a young Roman soldier named Thax.
Etain, who hates the Romans for murdering her family, betrays the legion to the Picts; the Romans walk into a trap and are annihilated, while the general is captured by Pictish warriors. Dias, Bothos, and Thax, along with four other survivors, a veteran named "Brick", two Greco-Roman legionaries named Macros and Leonidas, and Tarak, a cook from the Hindu Kush
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range that stretches between central Afghanistan and northern Pakistan. The highest point in the Hindu Kush is Tirich Mir in the Chitral region of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.It is the westernmost extension of the Pamir Mountains, the Karakoram Range, and is a...
, learn that Virilus has been taken prisoner and set out to rescue him. After a few days' travel, they find the Pict settlement and sneak in at nightfall. They silently kill several sentries, but fail to break the general's chains; he orders them to leave him and get back to the safety of Roman territory. As they retreat, Thax kills Gorlacon's young son and recovers General Virilus's helmet. The next morning, after the dead boy is cremated, the general was killed. The Picts, angry with the murder of the child,decides to send a team under Etain to kill the escaping Roman soldiers.
After several days' pursuit, Etains team of Picts eventually catch up with the fugitives, who jump off a cliff into a river. Tarak is killed by Aeron and another Pict archer before he can jump; the others survive the fall, but Macros and Thax end up separated from the others, discover Tarak's body floating down the river, and are pursued by a pack of wolves.
With night falling, Dias and his group camp for the night, only to realize that their trackers have set up camp nearby. Dias and Brick launch a night raid on the enemy camp, killing two men and severely wounding a third, but do not find Etain. Interrogating the wounded Pict, Quintus learns of the death of Gorlacon's son, and that the king has sworn vengeance on their heads. He also learns that Etain has launched her own attack on the Roman camp. He and Brick finish off the Pict and return to their camp, only to discover that Leonidas was killed and Bothos injured.
Macros and Thax, meanwhile, are still running from the wolves, with Macros, the faster runner, staying well clear of Thax. As the two Romans run across an open field with the wolves in close pursuit, Thax eventually falls and cries out to his comrade for help. When Macros returns to help him, Thax slices through Macros' hamstrings to prevent him from running, allowing Thax to escape while the wolves attack and devour his former comrade.
Dias, Bothos and Brick happen upon a hut in the forest and befriend Arianne, a Pict exile accused of witchcraft, who lives there. She shelters them, provides food and medical attention, and tells Dias that Etain has been born to fill her empty soul with Roman blood. When Etain comes the following day, Arianne confronts her while the Romans hide under the floorboards, forcing Etain to leave infuriated. The next morning, with Bothos well enough to travel, they leave Arianne, who, having developed something of a connection with Dias, provides them with additional food, to travel to a nearby garrison.
On arrival, they find it abandoned: an order on a wall informs them that Roman troops have retreated south, to set up a new defensive line, by the orders of Emperor Hadrian. As they see Etain and her group of Picts approach, they set up a defensive position inside the fort. Bothos kills Vortix and a female Pict warrior, Dias kills Etain and two Picts, and Brick kills Aeron and the last Pict warrior. However, before the Picts are defeated, Brick is killed by a spear thrown from Etain.
Camping overnight on their way south, Dias and Bothos are reunited with Thax and the trio continue onwards. Upon reaching Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall was a defensive fortification in Roman Britain. Begun in AD 122, during the rule of emperor Hadrian, it was the first of two fortifications built across Great Britain, the second being the Antonine Wall, lesser known of the two because its physical remains are less evident today.The...
, Thax threatens Dias, who says that he will report his crimes and the two fight, with Dias as the victor. Bothos, riding joyfully towards the Roman construction works, is mistaken for a Pict and shot by Roman archers. When Dias enters the camp he reports the situation to the governor. Agricola, concerned that, should news of the Legion's annihilation become common knowledge, other tribes may rise up against them, and also not wishing his record to be tainted by a military failure, decides that it would be better if the Ninth Legion's fate remained a mystery and thus Dias must be killed.
The governor tries to get Dias killed but he manages to survive. He comes to know the governor's evil intent and a frustrated Dias returns to the hut of the witch- Arianne.Arianne feels happy to see him back. The movie ends here.
Cast
- Michael FassbenderMichael FassbenderMichael Fassbender is an Irish-German actor. He is best known for playing Lt. Archie Hicox in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Magneto in the superhero blockbuster X-Men: First Class...
as Quintus Dias, a centurion of the Ninth Legion. - Dominic WestDominic WestDominic Gerard Fe West is an English actor best known for his role as Detective Jimmy McNulty in the HBO drama series The Wire.-Film and TV:...
as Titus Flavius Virilus, the general (legate) of the Ninth Legion. - Olga KurylenkoOlga KurylenkoOlha Kostyantynivna Kurylenko , better known as Olga Kurylenko, is a French actress and model. She is perhaps best known as the Bond girl, Camille Montes, in the 22nd James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. She also portrayed Nika Boronina in the movie adaptation of the video game Hitman...
as Etain, a warrior from the BrigantesBrigantesThe Brigantes were a Celtic tribe who in pre-Roman times controlled the largest section of what would become Northern England, and a significant part of the Midlands. Their kingdom is sometimes called Brigantia, and it was centred in what was later known as Yorkshire...
tribe. Marshall said of the character, "Etain is kind of revenge incarnate. Her family were butchered by the Romans, she had her tongue cut out by the Romans, she’s had a hell of a time and she’s out for Roman blood... She’s quite furious because one sense is not there — she can’t speak — all the others are more developed. She sees very well and hears very well: she is an animal!" - Riz AhmedRiz AhmedRizwan Ahmed , also known as Riz Ahmed, the Rizmeister General, or Riz MC, is a British MC, musician and actor. He is noted for his lead performances in The Road to Guantanamo, Shifty, Britz, and Four Lions.-Ethnic background:Ahmed is a British Pakistani...
as Tarak, a cook from the Ninth Legion. - Noel ClarkeNoel ClarkeNoel Anthony Clarke is an English actor, director and screenwriter from London. He is best known for playing Wyman Norris in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet and Mickey Smith in Doctor Who...
as Macros, a Greek refugee from Numidia and a legionary from the second cohort of the Ninth Legion. - Imogen PootsImogen PootsImogen Gay Poots is an English actress, best known for playing Tammy in the 2007 film 28 Weeks Later, Prue Sorenson in the 2010 remake of the controversial TV drama Bouquet of Barbed Wire and as Jean Ross in the BBC's Christopher and His Kind.-Early life:Poots was born in Hammersmith, London,...
as Arianne, an exiled Pict woman who forms a relationship with Quintus Dias. - Liam Cunningham as Ubriculius ("Brick"), a veteran soldier from the Ninth Legion.
- JJ FeildJJ FeildJohn Joseph Feild , known professionally as J. J. Feild, is an Anglo-American actor.-Early and personal life:John Joseph Feild was born in Boulder, Colorado, to British academic Reshad Feild and his American wife. Through his father, he is a relative of British astronomer John Feild...
as Thax, an officer from the Ninth Legion. - Dimitri LeonidasDimitri LeonidasDimitri Leonidas is a British actor, and has been acting since he was a child. For most of his childhood career including the years he was in the BBC television series Grange Hill, where he was credited as Shane Leonidas. From 2008 he started going by his birthname Dimitri Leonidas. Dimitri comes...
as Leonidas, a Greek-Roman legionary from the Ninth Legion. - David MorrisseyDavid MorrisseyDavid Mark Morrissey is an English actor and director. Morrissey grew up in the Kensington and Knotty Ash areas of Liverpool, and learned to act at the city's Everyman Youth Theatre. At the age of 18, he was cast in the television series One Summer , which won him recognition throughout the country...
as Bothos, a veteran officer from the Ninth Legion. - Ulrich ThomsenUlrich ThomsenUlrich Thomsen is a Danish actor.Thomsen was born in Fyn, Denmark and graduated from the Danish National School of Theatre and Contemporary Dance in 1993, after which playing on several theatres in Copenhagen, such as Dr. Dantes Aveny, Mungo Park and Østre Gasværks Teater.His film debut was in...
as Gorlacon - Dave LegenoDave LegenoDavid "Dave" Legeno is an English actor, boxer and mixed martial artist.-Life and career:Legeno was born in Marylebone, London, England. He has been quoted as saying that he wanted to act since he read Shakespeare's Richard III...
as Vortix - Axelle CarolynAxelle CarolynAxelle Carolyn is a Belgian actress, screenwriter, make-up artist, journalist and author.-Acting career:Carolyn won her first little role as partygoer in the 2005 Spanish thriller Beneath Still Waters. She played her first bigger role 2008 in her husband Neil Marshall's Doomsday and assisted the...
as Aeron - Paul Freeman as Agricola, governor of Britain.
- Rachael StirlingRachael StirlingRachael Atlanta Stirling is an English stage, film and television actress. She is a two-time Olivier nominee for her stage work, but is best known for her performance as Nancy Astley in the BBC drama Tipping the Velvet.-Personal life:...
as Druzilla, Governor Agricola's daughter. - Michael Carter as Antoninus
- Tom MannionTom MannionTom Mannion is a British actor.His television credits include Brookside, Up the Garden Path, The Bill, Boon, Cadfael, Doctor Finlay, Doctors, Eleventh Hour, Holby City, Hustle, Life on Mars, Midsomer Murders, New Tricks, Red Cap, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Spatz, Taggart, The Agatha Christie...
as Tesio - Peter GuinnessPeter Guinness (actor)Peter Guinness is a British film, television and theatre actor.-Career:He has appeared in over fifty television productions and over ten films...
as Cassius - Lee RossLee Ross (actor)Lee Ross is an English professional actor best known for his role as Dodger in Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest. He has also starred in, Press Gang, Secrets & Lies, The Catherine Tate Show and most recently as Owen Turner in the BBC soap opera EastEnders.-Career:His first acting role was as Fat Sam in...
as Septus. - Jake MaskallJake MaskallJake Maskall is an English television, film and theatre actor.-Career:Jake's most notable role came in the BBC television soap opera EastEnders where he played ladies' man and bad boy Danny Moon. His character first appeared on 30 December 2004 and was driven out of the show by gangster Johnny...
as Argos. - Eoin MackenEoin MackenEoin Christopher Macken is an Irish actor and film maker.Eoin has modelled for Abercrombie and Fitch, Ralph Lauren, and GQ....
as Achivir.
Production
Centurion was written originally by director Neil MarshallNeil Marshall
Neil Marshall is an English film director, editor and screenwriter. Marshall began his career in editing and in 2002 directed his first feature film Dog Soldiers, which became a cult film. He followed up with the critically acclaimed horror film The Descent in 2005...
under the working title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
Ninth Legion. The Ninth Legion, so the story goes, marched into Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
from York with over 3,000 men and disappeared. In recent years, historians have disputed the fate of the legion; some believe they were disbanded, while others believe they were massacred in Germania or in the East fighting the Persians during the early years of the second century. Marshall said of his take of the story, "It's not meant to be historically perfect. I'm picking up on a legend and exploring it... it's an action thriller." The tide of academic opinion seems to be returning to the view that the Legion was probably wiped out in Britain. In a recent book, Dr Miles Russell of Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK...
observes that there is strong evidence for a catastrophic British war resulting in the annihilation of the legion early in the reign of Hadrian.
Filming began toward the end of February 2009. Filming locations included the Scottish locations Badenoch
Badenoch
Badenoch is a traditional district which today forms part of Badenoch and Strathspey, an area of Highland Council, in Scotland, bounded on the north by the Monadhliath Mountains, on the east by the Cairngorms and Braemar, on the south by Atholl and the Grampians, and on the west by Lochaber...
, Strathspey
Strathspey, Scotland
Strathspey is the area around the strath of the River Spey, Scotland, in both the Moray council area and the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area of Highland....
, and Glenfeshie Estate in the Cairngorms
Cairngorms
The Cairngorms are a mountain range in the eastern Highlands of Scotland closely associated with the mountain of the same name - Cairn Gorm.-Name:...
. Filming also took place at Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
locations, such as Alice Holt Forest and Hurtwood Forest in the Surrey Hills
Surrey Hills AONB
The Surrey Hills is a Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty , located in Surrey, England. The AONB was designated in 1958 and covers one quarter of the county of Surrey...
. Historical reenactment
Historical reenactment
Historical reenactment is an educational activity in which participants attempt torecreate some aspects of a historical event or period. This may be as narrow as a specific moment from a battle, such as the reenactment of Pickett's Charge at the Great Reunion of 1913, or as broad as an entire...
groups were enlisted to play Picts and Roman soldiers in the practical filming at Badenoch and Strathspey. Filming was completed in March, after seven weeks.
The production was designed by Simon Bowles
Simon Bowles
Simon Bowles is a British production designer, who got his start in the film industry in 1993, working as an art department runner and then standby art director...
with art direction by Jason Knox-Johnston. The sets were built by DRS Construction.
The film was screened on 18 March 2010 at the South by Southwest Film Festival as the "Super Secret TBD" film. It was also the opening night premiere for the inaugural ActionFest
ActionFest
ActionFest is an annual film festival in Asheville, NC, started by Carolina Cinemas and Magnolia Pictures founder Bill Banowsky and action director/producer Aaron Norris...
film festival. The film was released on 30 July 2010 as video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
on the Xbox Live Marketplace
Xbox Live Marketplace
The Xbox Live Marketplace is a virtual market designed for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console that allows Xbox Live members to download purchased or promotional content...
and Amazon.com
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
.
Reception
The film received mixed reception in the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, it currently has a 56% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. The Birmingham Post gave the film two stars out of five saying "this hideously violent, formula one chase movie lacks the novelty of Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
's Apocalypto
Apocalypto
Apocalypto is a 2006 American epic action-adventure film directed by Mel Gibson. Set in Yucatan, Mexico, during the declining period of the Maya civilization, Apocalypto depicts the journey of a Mesoamerican tribesman who must escape human sacrifice and rescue his family after the capture and...
". Empire Magazine gave the film three stars out of five stating that the film "could have done with a lot more character-meat on those bones." Film4
Film4
Film4 is a free digital television channel available in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, owned and operated by Channel 4, that screens films.-Programming:...
gave the film two stars out of five stating "It's just a shame none of this stuff was thought through a little more carefully, because there's a talented cast here who have been hung out to dry." The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
gave the film two stars out of five stating that "this is exercise-bike cinema: energetic, relentless and tipping towards monotony".
See also
- List of films set in ancient Rome
- List of historical drama films
- Massacre of the Ninth LegionMassacre of the Ninth LegionThe Massacre of the Ninth Legion refers to the defeat of a large vexillation of the Legio IX Hispana during the revolt against Roman rule in Britain launched by Boudica, queen of the Iceni of Norfolk...
, an event during the revolt against Roman rule in Britain launched by Queen BoudicaBoudicaBoudica , also known as Boadicea and known in Welsh as "Buddug" was queen of the British Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire....
of Norfolk, c. AD 61. - The Eagle, a 2011 film on a similar topic.