Centurion

Little is known about what happened to the Ninth Legion, a band of Roman soldiers who invaded Britain in the mid first century. It's one of those mysteries that may never be solved. British director Neil Marshall takes a stab at one possible scenario.
I have a medium sized soft spot for writer/director Neil Marshall; he made my favourite Scottish werewolf film, Dog Soldiers; and made me vow never to go spelunking with a bunch of chicks after watching Descent.
Centurion is set in the early second century AD. The Roman Empire is stretching its legs and likes the look of the Scottish Highlands which is currently occupied by the Picts: a barbaric race of wicked fighters with a penchant for eyeliner and a leader named Gorlacon (Ulrich Thomsen - Hitman) who could do very well as a Sting impersonator should his career as Chief turn sour.
Quintus Dias (Michael Fassbender - Inglourious Basterds) narrowly escapes an attack from the Picts that wiped out his whole garrison. He makes his way through an unforgiving landscape and meets up with Titus Flavius Virilus (Dominic West - The Wire) Commander of the Ninth Legion. The Ninth have welcomed a mute Pict woman, Etain (Olga Kuylenko - Hitman) as a guide through the rough terrain.
As traitors do, Etain leads the legion straight into an ambush where Virilus is captured by the Pict. Those still alive vow to rescue him.
Dias is joined by fellow soldiers Brick (Liam Cunningham - Harry Brown), Macros (Noel Clarke - Doctor Who), Leonidas (Dimitri Leonidas - Tormented), Tarak (Riz Ahmed - Four Lions), Thax (JJ Field - Northanger Abbey) and Bothos (David Morrissey - Nowhere Boy), as they make their way north in an effort to escape their hunters.
It becomes a game of cat and mouse as the Romans are tracked by the Pict led by Etain and her supernatural-like tracking skills.
I kept wondering throughout this movie if there was ever an alternate title, something along the line of 'Blokes, Blood and Barbarians' because in those three words, the film is pretty well summed up. The cast is ninety-seven percent male; there is an abundance of blood with all the severed heads and hacked limbs; and the Pict warriors make for very interesting opponents. If only the Romans had an 'Unfollow' button...
Fassbender is good as Dias and kudos must go to his dialect coach. I did enjoy it even though the story has been told before. Many times. Why Etain was made a mute is unknown, perhaps Marhsall just couldn't give her any good lines? I don't know.
If you're looking for an action/war movie with lots of stabby stabs and bloody blood then Centurion is for you. That being said, it is also a fascinating look into the conditions that soldiers have to fight in, both in the past and the present.
Things I learnt: don't go towards the Arctic Circle if you've only got a blankey and a few animal hides for warmth; not enough people paint their faces these days; if someone can't physically tell you they aren't a traitor, they probably are a traitor.
Entertaining.
Seven out of Ten.