Centurion
Centurion: DVD reviews
Submitted by imajrim on Mon, 16/08/2010 - 17:28.
Centurion's agenda isn't about being a grandiose Gladiator clone,
despite the inevitable comparisons and not so subtle nods to Scott's
film - "I am a soldier of Rome, and I will not yield!". Rather it's a
tight little action movie elevated by a great cast and snappy direction.
The pace sags a little mid-way, but picks up again and it's all over
before you know it.
Fassbender is good as Quintus, offering a gritty stoicism that furnishes
his ostensibly familiar action-movie archetype character well, but the
lack of substance in his character robs him of some of the tools of the
trade that would have made this film great. He does as best as he can
with the material though, and can call upon the audience’s empathy to
make up for their lack of knowledge about him. Had Marshall and Co
concentrated on detail, especially in the characters, we might have been
talking a four star plus review, which I would love to give the film on
the strength of Director of Photograph Sam McCurdy's
stunning visual work alone. The outdoor scenes are just breathtaking,
and he deserves high-praise indeed: I can’t help but think that I might
not have awarded quite as high a rating were it not for his work.
The DVD release however does sport a, pleasantly surprising, range of
special features, such as more light-hearted outtakes and a 30 minute
documentary on the making of the film – which once again shows the
people working on this film cared about the movie they were making. Yet
unfortunately through a mixture of technical difficulties and quite
possibly budgetary constraints the movie they probably wanted to make
failed to materialise.The deleted scenes also give a fading glimpse into a film which could
have been more – albeit not much more – than merely a festival of
brutal violence and gore.It’s not a complete loss though, still contains well constructed,
compelling action pieces and glossy camerawork which will come out
beautifully in any Blu-Ray presentation of the film.
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Centurion: UK DVD out now - US theatrical release later this month
Submitted by imajrim on Mon, 16/08/2010 - 17:03.
Centurion is now available on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK.
According to DVDactive.com, special features include:
- Audio Commentary with Director Neil Marshall,
Cinematographer Sam McCurdy, Production Designer Simon Bowles and
Special Make-Up Effects Designer Paul Hyett - The Lost Legion Featurette
- Getting Down and Dirty Featurette
- Guts and Gore Featurette
- Fireballs, Stunts & Mayhem Featurette
- Deleted Scenes with Introduction from Director Neil Marshall
- Production Design Gallery
- Outtakes
The film will see its threatrical release in the US on August 27th. See the official site at http://www.centurionmovie.com/ for details.
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Centurion: Seattle International Film Festival
Submitted by imajrim on Tue, 18/05/2010 - 09:06.
Centurion will have two screenings at Seattle International Film Festival in June. See the SIFF site for more details. Thanks to MFOnline for the heads up.
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Centurion: LOVEFiLM on set exclusive
Submitted by imajrim on Sun, 02/05/2010 - 20:30.
JJ is being interviewed in a behind the scenes video at LOVEFiLM.com.
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Centurion: new behind the scenes photos
Submitted by imajrim on Tue, 27/04/2010 - 21:33.
The Sunday Sun have posted several behind the scenes photos to their website.
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Centurion: facebook fan page & review round-up
Submitted by kls010 on Sun, 25/04/2010 - 17:30.
For those interested, there is a Facebook Fan Page for the film.
Another Neil Marshall interview. You can spot JJ and David laughing behind the scenes, at 2:12.
A review round up thanks to Ima (sorry if any are repeated)
The lack of CGI only helps matters along, with every effect, shot and action feeling gritty and challenging, especially when combined with the naturally stunning backdrop of Scotland. Between Simon Bowles (no relation, sadly) and Sam McCurdy serving as Production Designer and Director of Photography, respectively, the whole film looks and feels much more epic than most films of a much larger budget. At times, as the score swells and the cameras flies over picturesque mountains, there is a slight feel of the same breathtaking shots that populated The Lord Of The Rings films, an impressive feat and one to be commended.
Indie London 3/5
SAY what you will about the quality of some of Neil Marshall’s scripts, but the man knows how to make an impressive looking film with limited means. Centurion, Marshall’s latest, marks a return to somewhere close to the director’s best and, as ever, looks spectacular. There are flaws, of course. Actors of Fassbender’s and Cunningham’s quality probably deserve much better in terms of characterisation than Marshall affords them, while The Wire‘s Dominic West is criminally wasted as an ill-fated commanding officer. A final twist also fails to convince and ends the film on a slightly underwhelming note. But Marshall also deserves credit for tossing in plenty of modern day resonance with army occupations, and for refusing to paint either the Romans or The Picts as wholly good or evil. He also deserves praise for giving both Kurylenko and Imogen Poots plenty to do in what could essentially have become a man’s film. Centurion must therefore rate as another impressive achievement from Marshall, which hits far more than it misses.
Twitchfilm's Action Fest review
Shot in a cold, sparse style clearly meant to mimic the hostile beauty of the natural landscape that Marshall uses to such great effect, Centurion takes a small band of stellar actors - Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko and David Morrissey are all hugely charismatic, though Noel Clarke seems weirdly out of place in this time period - and breaks them down to their most basic components. The entire film is fight or flight, nothing more. Fight and kill when you have to, run away if you think you can escape. Marshall throws you into it immediately, he makes the stakes clearly apparent right from the beginning, and he keeps the pressure on right until the very end. This is bl**dy, desperate stuff.
2 out of 5 from The Guardian. 
NME gives 3/10.
The overall effect - as this tale of the disappearance of the Ninth Legion in Britain shows - is one of a videogame from 2035 that someone else is playing for you. The dialogue won't be that much better (sample line: "Two years on the frontier - this is truly the asshole of the world").
3 out of 5 from Metro.
2 out of 5 from FilmFour.
Hey U Guys
The mountains and valleys of Aviemore convey the breathtaking awe of the Scottish landscape in a way that all the pixel power of ILM never could and, while the makeup is excellent, the powder blue tinge of the actors’ skin is an authentic shade of half-frozen actor – Neil Marshall blue! Such a terrible pity then, that it’s not very good. Beneath the unnecessary hook Neil Marshall has delivered all the elements of an entertaining action adventure. And it almost works.
Despite its classy cast, little is expected of the actors beyond a strong presence, and as demonstrated in Hunger and Inglourious Basterds , Fassbender has that in spades. He’s believable as a warrior you’d follow into battle, though he’s also saddled with a terribly superfluous voiceover. Bereft of a meaty plot, Centurion doesn’t deliver much historical drama or intrigue, but provides muddy, bl**dy action scenes and a simple, effective narrative.
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Centurion: 2 part interview with Neil Marshall
Submitted by kls010 on Tue, 20/04/2010 - 23:18.
Screenjabber has uploaded a 2 part interview with director Neil Marshall to You Tube. Lots of clips from the film, including scenes with JJ.
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