Michael Fassbender has racked up a number of memorable roles, including Magneto in X-Men: First Class, the android David in Prometheus and Steve Jobs in…well, Steve Jobs. But his first big role was in Zack Snyder‘s swords and sandals epic 300. Fassbender played the Spartan warrior Stelios, who is one of the titular 300 men that joins their king Leonidas (Gerard Butler) in a battle to stop Sparta from being invaded by Persia. 300 became a smash hit due to the way Snyder adapted Frank Miller‘s hyper-violent graphic novel, utilizing many of the techniques that populated his later films — including gratuitous uses of slow motion. But there’s another blood-soaked, gritty historical epic that features Fassbender in a prominent role: Centurion, the action thriller helmed by Neill Marshall.
Centurion stars Fassbender as Quintus Dias, a soldier in the Roman army. While participating in the fight against the Britons, Dias becomes one of the last survivors of an attack on his legion and winds up going on the run with his fellow soldiers. Further complicating matters is the fact that Dias and his fellow warriors are being hunted by the ‘She-Wolf’ Etain (Olga Kurylenko), who seeks vengeance on the Romans for the trauma she suffered as a child. Though Centurion only made back half its budget at the box office, it’s gained a solid reputation for its somber tone, not to mention the fact that it’s inspired by one of history’s greatest myths: the disappearance of the Ninth Legion, who didn’t appear in historical records following a battle in AD 120.
‘Centurion’ Is Based on a Much-Debated Historical Event
Over the years, debate has raged about what happened to the Ninth Legion. Were they killed in battle? Did they disband? Though Neil Marshall had originally written Centurion under the title Ninth Legion, he was upfront about the fact that he wasn’t making a historically accurate movie.“It’s not meant to be historically perfect. I’m picking up on a legend and exploring it… it’s an action thriller,” Marshall said. Years later, historian Tristan Hughes would break down the historical influences on Centurion, and in the process revealed that it was one of his favorite films of all time:
“What I love about this story is that it’s a combination of three of my favorite tales from Roman history. You can see elements of Boudica in a small part… You can see elements of the story of the Ninth Legion that has become very popular today, and it has elements of a disastrous battle that occurred in the forest of Germania in 9 AD.”
By mixing different elements from past accounts of what happened to the Ninth Legion, Centurion will have something for everyone — “everyone” in this case being the scholars who’ve argued about the legion’s ultimate fate. Hughes was also able to pick out what historical events influenced the battles in Centurion, including a battle in the Teutoburg Forest. That battle is one of many that features the signature bloody violence that populates Marshall’s films: blades impale bodies, heads are hacked off, and sprays of gore arch through the air. It’s enough to rival 300‘s level of carnage, though it wasn’t enough to earn good reviews. Many critics said that while Centurion‘s fight scenes are well crafted, Marshall forgot to write compelling characters to go along with them. Yet Centurion‘s saving grace is Michael Fassbender. As Quintus, he tends to be fairly brooding, yet driven to protect his fellow legionnaires. In one of his inner monolouges, Quintus says, “I made a promise to a general to get his soldiers home. That is my task. That is my duty.” It’s a duty he follows through to the bitter end.
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‘Centurion’ Led to More Historical Roles for Michael Fassbender
Centurion wouldn’t be the only historical epic in Michael Fassbender’s history. Five years later, he’d play the title role in Macbeth. While Macbeth suffered a similar box office fate as Centurion, it was more well-received, with Fassbender receiving praise for his performance as the titular character. A year later, Fassbender would reunite with Macbeth director Justin Kurzel for the live-action adaptation of Assassin’s Creed. But it landed less with the grace of a trained assassin and more with a thud, receiving a critical thrashing and flopping at the box office. Fassbender’s ventures into historical epics might not always pay off, but Centurion is at least worth a watch for the excellently crafted bloody violence and his brooding, magnetic performance. It also makes an amazing double feature with 300.
- Release Date
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April 23, 2010
- Runtime
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97minutes
- Director
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Neil Marshall
- Writers
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Neil Marshall