History Film / Centurion

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler:Everyone in the Ninth Legion dies. Every one of the Picts sent after Dias dies. Pretty much everyone except Dias, Gorlacon, and Arianne dies.]]

* CallThatAFormation: The Romans never seem to fight in formation and instead battle in Hollywood-friendly one on one duels. Unlike most examples, however this only results in their tactics backfiring and the Picts proceeds to slaughter the Romans for doing so.

* BookEnds / IronicEcho: "My name is Quintus Dias, and this is neither the beginning nor the end of my story."

* BiggerIsBetterInBed: Basically what General Virilus' names mean.

** The film features Noel Clarke, an English actor with Afro-Caribbean heritage playing "Macros", a refugee from Numidia, and a legionary from the second cohort of the Ninth Legion. Schoolboy error here: Numidia, modern-day Tunisia, was populated by light/brown-skinned Berbers and descendants of the Semitic Carthaginians. The writer had probably meant Nubia, the country in modern-day Sudan.
** The same Roman unit also features Creator/RizAhmed playing Tarak, the company cook, who "hails from the Hindu Kush" (which neatly matches Ahmed's own Pakistani ancestry). However, in a subversion, this one is actually plausible as odd as it might sound. At the time, the Hindu Kush had some contact with the Eastern Mediterranean area through the large Parthian Empire, so it would be possible for a local to end up in Roman territories without stretching too much the limits of disbelief.

** The diversity of the Roman army, which was an amalgamation of various conquered peoples under the rule of the Roman Empire.

* NotSoDifferent: The film examines that the Picts and the Romans are hardly different from each other at all since it ends with [[spoiler:Arianne and Quintus ending up together, who were both branded outcasts by their people]].

* CallThatAFormation: The Romans never seem to fight in formation and instead battle in Hollywood-friendly one on one duels. Unlike most examples, however, RealityEnsues and the Picts proceeds to slaughter the Romans for doing so.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Doubles as a BilingualBonus. Virilus means manly in latin, and General Virilus is very manly.

** The film features Noel Clarke, an English actor with Afro-Caribbean heritage playing "Macros", a refugee from Numidia and a legionary from the second cohort of the Ninth Legion. Schoolboy error here: Numidia, modern-day Tunisia, was populated by light-skinned Berbers and descendants of Eastern Mediterranean Carthagians. The writer had probably meant Nubia, the country in modern day Sudan.
** The same Roman unit also features Riz Ahmed playing Tarak, the company cook, who "hails from the Hindu Kush" (which neatly matches Ahmed's own Pakistani ancestry). However, in a subversion, this one is actually plausible as odd as it might sound. At the time, the Hindu Kush had some contact with the Eastern Mediterranean area through the large Parthian Empire, so it would be possible for a local to end up in Roman territories without stretching too much the limits of disbelief.

-> ''"I AM A SOLDIER OF ROME! I WILL NOT YIELD!"''
-->-- '''Centurion Quintus Dias'''

''Centurion'' is a 2010 film written and directed by Neil Marshall, the director of ''Film/DogSoldiers'', ''Film/TheDescent'' and ''Film/{{Doomsday}}'', and starring Creator/MichaelFassbender. The film explores the possible fate of the Legio IX Hispania, or the legendary Ninth Legion, that [[LostRomanLegion mysteriously disappeared from Roman records in the early second century AD]], for no given reason.

* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Mother]]: [[spoiler: One of Etain's good reasons to hate the Romans.]] Well if you want to be accurate it's "you killed my father, raped and murdered my mother, raped ''me'' and cut my tongue out".

''Centurion'' is a 2010 film written and directed by Neil Marshall, the director of ''Film/DogSoldiers'', ''Film/TheDescent'' and ''Film/{{Doomsday}}'' , and starring Creator/MichaelFassbender. The film explores the possible fate of the Legio IX Hispania, or the legendary Ninth Legion, that [[LostRomanLegion mysteriously disappeared from Roman records in the early second century AD]], for no given reason.

* ArtisticLicenseMartialArts: Our heroes' swashbuckling fighting styles would not have been used by Roman soldiers, who actually favored a BoringButPractical short-ranged style based on Celtiberian swordfighting. Dias has an excuse, he was trained by his father, a gladiator, who would have showy moves, but not the rest.
* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: The Picts speak Scots-Gaelic. No record of the Pictish language exists, and the closest modern language to it is theorised to be Welsh, but Neil Marshall thought it would be too confusing to have a Scottish tribe speaking Welsh.

* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness : Who decides the ultimate fate of the Ninth Legion's legacy.

* ShownTheirWork :

* MenAreTheExpendableGender: Played with since [[spoiler:Ubriculius]] is killed fairly simply in the final battle with almost no fanfare at all.

** The same Roman unit also features Riz Ahmed playing Tarak, the company cook, who "hails from the Hindu Kush" (which neatly matches Ahmed's own Pakistani ancestry). However, while it might sound unrealistic, this one is actually semi-plausible. At the time, the Hindu Kush had some contact with the Eastern Mediterranean area through the large Parthian Empire, so it would be possible for a local to end up in Roman territories without stretching too much the limits of disbelief.

* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler: Etain's eventual death at the hands of Quintus is played tragically, showing that she was just a victim of this conflict as everyone else]].

** The film features Noel Clarke, an English actor with Afro-Caribbean heritage playing "Macro", a refugee from Numidia and a legionary from the second cohort of the Ninth Legion. Schoolboy error here: Numidia, modern-day Tunisia, was populated by light-skinned Berbers and descendants of Eastern Mediterranean Carthagians. The writer had probably meant Nubia, the country in modern day Sudan.
** The same Roman unit also features Riz Ahmed playing Tarak, the company cook, who "hails from the Hindu Kush" (which neatly matches Ahmed's own Pakistani ancestry). However, while it might sound unrealistic, this one is actually semi-plausible. At the time, the Hindu Kush had some contact with the Eastern Mediterranean area through the large Parthian Empire, so it would be possible for a Kushan to end up in Roman territories without stretching too much the limits of disbelief.

* ArtisticLicense:
** Our heroes' swashbuckling fighting styles would not have been used by Roman soldiers. Dias has an excuse, he was trained by his father, a gladiator, who would have showy moves, but not the rest.
** The Picts speak Scots-Gaelic. No record of the Pictish language exists and the closest modern language to it is theorised to be Welsh but Neil Marshall thought it would be too confusing to have a Scottish tribe speaking Welsh.

* BlackVikings: The film features Noel Clarke, an English actor with Afro-Caribbean heritage playing "Macro", a refugee from Numidia and a legionary from the second cohort of the Ninth Legion. Schoolboy error here, Numidia in modern-day Tunisia was populated by light-skinned Berbers and descendants of Eastern Mediterranean Carthagians. The writer had probably meant Nubia, the country in modern day Sudan. The same Roman unit also features Riz Ahmed playing Tarak, the company cook, who "hails from the Hindu Kush", which neatly matches Ahmed's own Pakistani ancestry.

* ShootTheShaggyDog : [[spoiler:Things go badly on the return, just outside of the Roman gate.]]

* TokenRomance: Dias and Arianne, though it only ends with a MaybeEverAfter.

* LostRomanLegion
* MadeOfIron: Getting shot by Aeron makes Ubriculius only more annoyed, he pulls the arrow out of his back [[spoiler:and uses it to kill her]], and by the end, he only dies when running a spear through himself to get the Pict behind him.

''Centurion'' is a 2010 film written and directed by Neil Marshall, he of ''Film/DogSoldiers'', ''Film/TheDescent'' and ''Film/{{Doomsday}}'' fame and starring Creator/MichaelFassbender. The film explores the possible fate of the Legio IX Hispania - the legendary Ninth Legion that [[LostRomanLegion mysteriously disappeared from Roman records in the early second century AD]], for no given reason.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: The 9th Legion is wiped out, and Quintus is ostracized from Roman society, but he retires with his hot new girlfriend to an idyllic little cottage.]]

* DarkMagicalGirl: Etain's motivations are entirely personal, and special emphasis is placed on her being an InnocenceLost character. There is something supernatural about her, to the point that other characters speak about her as if she's a demon.

* DirtyCoward: Thax. [[spoiler:He cuts Macros' leg so he won't be able to outrun the wolves.]]

* DualWielding: Etain uses a knife in one hand and an axe in the other in her fight with Dias

* GoodScarsEvilScars - Arianne's scar marking her as an outcast because she was accused of Necromancy. It's almost completely covered by her hair and doesn't detract from her beauty at all.

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Arianne has a soft golden-blonde hair colour, which helps her be the only good female character in the movie.

* HotWitch: Arianne was accused of witchcraft, and deliberately creates the impression that she is a {{necromancer}} to protect herself, but she doesn't really have any magical powers, although she is an expert on woodcraft and herblore. She's definitely hot.

* LightIsNotGood: The pict archer Aeron is blonde and pale-skinned, dressing mainly in bright clothes. Unlike Etain, she's given no sympathetic motives and is portrayed to be just as ruthless as her male counterparts.

* NotSoDifferent: The film examines that the Picts and the Romans are hardly that different from each other at all since it ends with [[spoiler:Arianne and Quintus ending up together, who were both branded outcasts by their people]].

* TheSpeechless: Etain [[spoiler:had her tongue cut out by Romans]].

* UnkemptBeauty: Etain. She's played by Olga Kurylenko, after all.

* LightFeminineAndDarkFeminine: Aeron (the Pict archer) is the light, while Etain is the dark.

** Women's status is depicted appropriately elevation for what it was in Pict culture.

** The inscription in the fort found near the end is written in paleographically correct II century roman characters.

* AntiHero / AntiVillain: The Roman soldiers are part of an invading army yet all they're trying to do is rescue their general and get back home. The Picts are trying to fight off an invasion and want revenge for the prince's murder but at the same time they're ruthless and don't exactly treat their own people any better.

* AxCrazy: Aeron.

* DarkActionGirl: Etain and Aeron.
* DesignatedGirlFight: Averted. The Roman side lacks an ActionGirl, with the film's only female warriors, Etain and Aeron, fighting for the Picts.

* TheDragon: Etain.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin : Doubles as a BilingualBonus. Virilus means manly in latin, and General Virilus is very manly.
* AFatherToHisMen: General Virilus.

* GrayAndGrayMorality: The Romans are kind of dicks. But then, so are the Picts.
* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold: Arianne.
* HeelFaceTurn: Inverted. The lone woman with the legion turns out to be a Mole for the Picts. Of course from the Picts' perspective, it's a straight example.

* [[YouKilledMyFather You Killed My Mother]]: [[spoiler: One of Etain's good reasons to hate the Romans.]] Well if you want to be accurate it's " you killed my father, raped and murdered my mother, raped ''me'' and cut my tongue out".

* ChefOfIron: Tarak

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: [[spoiler: Aeron]] is stabbed by Ubriculius with an arrow she shot him with.

* TheSpeechless: Etain [[spoiler:had her tongue cut out by Romans]]