Centurion Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

Centurion Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 1, 2010

British director Neil Marshall's "Centurion" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Pathe/20th Century Fox-UK. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with director Neil Marshall, production designer Simon Bowles, special makeup effects designer Paul Hyett, and cinematographer Sam McCurdy; making of featurette; outtakes; production design gallery; deleted scenes; photo gallery; and the film's original theatrical trailer. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Olga Kurylenko as the leader of the Picts

I decided to see Neil Marshall’s Centurion because there are two actors in it whose work I have been following closely. The first is Michael Fassbender, a charismatic Irishman who was incredible in Steve McQueen’s Hunger, a powerful film about legendary Nationalist prisoner Bobby Sands who died in a hunger strike in 1981; Fassbender also starred in Andrea Arnold’s Fish Tank, which won the prestigious Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009. The second is Olga Kurylenko, a beautiful Ukrainian girl who was outstanding in Diane Bertrand’s L'annulaire (distributed in North America as The Ring Finger), a seductive, notably dark film about a young girl who begins an affair with a lonely doctor obsessed with beautiful legs, red shoes, and other people’s dreams; L’annulaire was one of the best films I saw in 2005.

Having just finished watching Centurion, I must admit that I feel rather disappointed - not because the film did not meet my expectations; on the contrary, it turned out to be exactly what I expected to see; rather, I feel disappointed because both Fassbender and Kurylenko accepted roles that are average at best. They could do so much better.

Here’s the film's plot: AD 117. The Roman Empire stretches from Africa to the Black Sea. On the outskirts of Northern Britain, however, the savage Picts have been battling Roman forces for twenty years. Growing incredibly frustrated, Rome has ordered its generals to build giant forts in the area and put an end to the stalemate as quickly as possible.

The Picts attack and destroy one of the forts. The only man who survives the attack is Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender), a fearless warrior. He is taken prisoner by the Picts who beat him up so bad he could barely stand on his feet. Before they could kill him, however, Quintus manages to escape. A few days later, he joins General Titus Virilus (Dominic West) and the Ninth Legion.

While moving north, the Ninth Legion is ambushed and General Virilus taken captive by the Picts. Seven survivors, led by Quintus, head to the Picts’ camp to rescue him. But they fail - and end up being chased by a blood thirsty, stunningly beautiful warrior named Etain (Olga Kurylenko).

Centurion is a period chase film that should appeal to a large number of viewers as long as they ignore the bold quote that appears on the back cover of this Blu-ray disc: "Britain’s answer to Gladiator" (Nuts). Aside from the elaborate costumes and many gallons of fresh red paint, there are few similarities between the two films, if any at all.

The acting is pleasing but the main characters lack depth and personality. Even a terrific actor such as Fassbender needs good lines to impress, yet most of the time he only swears and splits his enemies in half. Kurylenko’s character is mute.

What Centurion lacks in substance, however, it certainly makes up in style. Cinematographer Sam McCurdy’s (Outlaw, Doomsday) lensing is indeed very impressive - the panoramic mountain vistas are some of the best I’ve seen in recent period films. Ilan Eshkeri’s (Layer Cake, The Young Victoria) intense music score also compliments the narrative well.

Note: Magnolia Pictures are set to release Neil Marshall's Centurion on Blu-ray in the United States on November 2.

Centurion Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Neil Marshall's Centurion arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Pathe/20th Century Fox-UK.

This is a very strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is excellent, clarity very pleasing, and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The film's unique color-scheme - a mix of blues, greens, and grays - is also quite impressive in 1080p. Many of large panoramic vistas are absolutely beautiful. Edge-enhancement is not an issue of concern; neither is macroblocking. I also did not see any serious compression issues. Generally speaking, the film looks exceptionally crisp and tight around the edges. I did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction to report in this review either. To sum it all up, this beautifully lensed period film has received a very strong treatment that will definitely please its fans. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Centurion Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and English Descriptive Audio 2.0. For the record, Pathe/20th Century Fox-UK have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very strong. The bass is potent and punchy, the rear channels very effective, and high-frequencies not overdone. Many of the battle scenes from the first half of the film, for instance, boast terrific dynamics (the rolling fireballs sound fantastic). The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and very easy to follow. There are no serious balance issues with Ilan Eshkeri's atmospheric score either.

My only minor complaint here pertains to the size of the SDH subtitles. For some unknown to me reason, they appear quite large. If they would have been a tiny bit smaller, I think that they would have looked perfect.

Centurion Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Making of Centurion - a standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of the film broken down into four episodes. Each episode also contains comments from various cast and crew members. In English, not subtitled:

-- The Lost Legion (5 min, PAL).
-- Guts & Gore (6 min, PAL).
-- Getting Down and Dirty (7 min, PAL).
-- Fireballs, Stunts and Mayhem (11 min, PAL).

Outtakes - raw footage that did not make it into the final version of the film. In English, not subtitled. (7 min, PAL).

Production design gallery - a collection of various production designs, courtesy of Simon Bowles. (3 min, PAL).

Deleted scenes - a collage of deleted scenes with optional commentary by director Neil Marshall. In English, not subtitled:

-- Agricola's Headquarters (3 min, PAL).
-- The Sentries (1 min, PAL).
-- Call to Arms (3 min, PAL).
-- Gorlacon's Son (1 min, PAL).
-- Roman Encampment (1 min, PAL).
-- Mountain Shelter (2 min, PAL).

Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Centurion. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

Photo gallery - a collection of stills from Centurion. (2 min, PAL).

Commentary - an audio commentary with director Neil Marshall, production designer Simon Bowles, special makeup effects designer Paul Hyett, and cinematographer Sam McCurdy (who was actually late for the recording of the commentary). This is quite an interesting commentary with an abundance of technical information as well as some fascinating historical data about the Romans and their struggle to conquer Northern Britain.

Centurion Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Centurion turned out to be exactly what I expected it to be - an entertaining but mostly unoriginal period action film. There are some great actors in it but unfortunately they have been given very little of substance to work with. Still, the action is great and the cinematography impressive. With other words, Centurion is a good film to see on a lazy Sunday afternoon. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Pathe/20th Century Fox-UK, looks and sounds terrific. It is also Region-B "locked" (but Magnolia Pictures are releasing Centurion in the United States on November 2). RECOMMENDED.