Centurion is lean and hungry stuff, as efficient in its story telling as in its brutality. Set in 117AD, Neil Marshall's (Dog Soldiers, The Descent)story pits the Roman empire against the guerrilla Picts, who have halted the Roman invasion so much so that Rome decides on a last push. To the organized troops of Roman centurions, the Picts with their unorthodox techniques have the upper hand, and with the help of Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender) who has escaped from the Picts, to show them the way to their hidden camp.  Led by General Virilus (Dominic West) and guided by a Pict prisoner and warrior named Etain (Olga Kurylenko – who is menacing without ever saying a word).

     As they usually do, things go horribly wrong when the legion is ambushed and Virilus is taken captive. Quintus and a handful of surviving soldiers face a desperate struggle to keep themselves alive behind enemy lines, evading the Pict pursuers over harsh terrain, and in an attempt to rescue their General, then finally reaching the safety of the Roman frontier.

     What works best is Marshall’s vicious hack and slash combat scenes where blood flies in all directions. The violence is gritty and grounded in reality, giving the scenes real power and realism to them. The film’s polished monochromatic glow gives a strong juxtaposition to the splashes of blood.

     When blood isn’t flowing on screen, I was treated to stunning aerial shots of our heroes charging through fields, forests and mountains. It’s an amazing landscape, adding much needed scope and grandeur to what would otherwise be a very claustraphobic chase movie. The impressive costumes and big sets also aid the film in looking much bigger and more impressive than its meager $25 million budget would dictate.