A man runs half naked, his hands bound by rope and his skin bruised and cut, through -18 degree weather atop a frozen mountain. Chased by something we cannot see, he stumbles headfirst into the snow. He gets up immediately. “My name is Quintus Dias, and this is neither the beginning nor the end of my story.” So begins the new blood-soaked historical tale from horror/action director Neil Marshall. Based on the mysterious end of the famed Roman 9th Legion, we follow as General Virilus (Dominic West) gets his marching orders to press farther into Pict territory (in Scotland) to bring about an end to the war that has long been in stalemate. Unfortunately for Virilus and his men, he’s been led straight into a trap, and a particularly bloodthirsty pack of Pict rebels slaughter the 9th Legion down to what they believe is the last man. But from out of the carnage seven survivors rise and must attempt to free their beloved general — who was taken prisoner by the Picts — then make their way on foot back to the safety of the Roman lines. In winter. With no supplies. What follows is a brutal, fast-paced chase film through the hills of old Briton, in the days when Rome thought it could extend its reach there, only to discover that it was a bit too far, even for mighty Rome.

I was very careful with my choice of words earlier. This is a historical tale, not a historical epic. In fact, there is very little epic about it. It is small in scope, small in budget — but equally small in ambition. This is not some sweeping historical film involving politics or intrigue or gargantuan battles. Instead, it is microscopic in focus. It wants to focus on these seven men and the harrowing few days they spend in the hills, hunted by a savage and unforgiving group of Pict trackers. More importantly, Centurion is a lot of fun. Structured much like a Western, it introduces us to our seven protagonists and puts them in fight after fight as a group of lethal horsemen try to run them down. The instances in which they decide to stop and take a stand are brief, bloody, and powerful, chock full of the ferocious violence that fans of historical action films are looking for. Heads explode, limbs get chopped off, spears pierce flesh — all in gleeful abandon with cheers from the audience.

Marshall excels at making drive-in level B-movies with an A-list mentality. He knows how to frame beautiful shots and make simple locations and makeup look positively killer. You never look at one of his films and think about how little it was made for. His aim is to make fun, wonderfully inventive genre delights. This film even manages to evoke some of the images of his previous film, the underappreciated Doomsday, his Grindhouse-like send-up of early ’80s postapocalyptic bliss — angry, dangerous women in face paint; a giant, menacing wall; a run through the British wilderness; an untrustworthy government. This time around, however, he’s not using these images and ideas in a tongue-in-cheek I loved this stuff when I was a kid sort of way. He’s doing it for real and it all works.

Sadly, the film is far from perfect. The ending gets a tad convoluted with betrayals, weighed down by some overly predictable moments, and the dialogue is far from what anyone would call heady and insightful. But the final showdown is a gut-tightening, sanguine, action extravaganza that will delight action fans everywhere, and the breathless pace of the film as a whole never lets you get bored. Entertaining through and through, Centurion accomplishes everything it sets out to do and is well worth seeing on the big screen when it finally comes your way.

Grade: B

Tags: centurion, sxsw film festival