Michael Fassbender hasn’t quite blossomed into the leading man Hollywood would like him to be. What this amounts to, is that he simply hasn’t performed well enough at the box office. This in no way is a discredit to his acting, as Fassbender is objectively one of the better actors the industry has seen in years. It takes more than that to be a star, but even still, Fassbender has turned in some pretty solid performances over the years that have allowed studios to keep taking chances on him. His role in the 2010 film Centurion being one of them.
Movies like Centurion are, for actors like Fassbender, a stepping stone. For audiences, it would be considered a rare find.
Centurion was also one of the films Fassbender headlined that didn’t actually see a financial return. It was however a role that helped him get a little more attention amongst the higher ups. There is also more to the movie than just Fassbender, as the story is interesting enough that they could’ve put almost anyone else there. Fassbender is the Centurion, Quintas Dias, the last survivor of an assault on the Roman base he was stationed at. Taken prisoner by the Picts who attacked, he eventually escapes and his picked up by another Roman legion headed back to take the fight to the Picts. What begins as a campaign shifts into a deadly game of run and hide as Dias and a small group of soldiers become the hunted.
Neil Marshall wrote and directed this period piece. Marshall’s artistic universe includes graphic battle scenes, plenty of gore, heightened language (with a few modern tweaks), and appropriate casting. In addition to Fassbender in the leading spot, there are talents like Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, Imogen Poots, and even Riz Ahmed in the mix; all of whom push the plot and make an impression with their screen time. Marshall’s portrayal of events is creative, and his presentation of the time period is accurate and visually appealing. The costuming is definitely on par with the era, and the shooting locations consist of beautiful scenery of the Scottish Highlands. There are minor flaws in the general structure of the film, but nothing that lessens the overall quality. For the acting, though not pushed to his limits, Michael Fassbender puts on an adequate display if even only a moderate one. Though, this has more to do with the script than it does him. West is incredibly charismatic even though his scenes are few, and Kurylenko is able to convey much whilst saying literally nothing.
Movies like Centurion are, for actors like Fassbender, a stepping stone. For audiences, it would be considered a rare find. Most of Fassbender’s fans are actually probably ignorant to its existence, mainly due to the fact that smaller budget films such as this are hardly given enough marketing. It’s a fine movie, and Fassbender gives a fine performance, but unfortunately most people will have never heard about it. Perhaps if more word were to get around about films like this, Fassbender would gain a larger fan base and his stock would continue to rise. One can only hope.
