3 out of 5

Director: Neil Marshall

Perfectly average, Centurion is Neil Marshall’s largest scale movie and also his most underwhelming. But it doesnt seem to be trying for much more than average so its entertaining enough. Centurion is essentially Marshalls version of What Happened to the Ninth? – the Ninth Legion being a gigantic Roman invasion force that supposedly disappeared when trying to advance upon the Picts in 2nd century Britain. After a large battle that explains how the fearsome legion is whittled down to a few, the movie turns into a long chase sequence with a crew (led by Michael Fassbender) trying to escape from Pict territory. Without the supernatural / fantastic elements of previous Marshall films, its hard to generate much Wow-factor here, which is unfortunate considering how good everything looks. Characters are believably grimy but mixed with truly fantastic landscape shots. Its not that this needed werewolves or plagues to be exciting, but Marshalls scripts seem to work best at breakneck speed, and the plotting here stutter steps between pacing rates. Thankfully, the steps are sequenced close enough together that youre never too bored. So: Centurion is a fun stay-at-home affair. Its nothing new, and would be disappointing if it blasted you with the orchestral / rock numbers of Gladiator and 300, but it somehow stays meager amidst the grandiosity.