Although it is well shot I did find the landscape and most of the settings did look quite depressing. Maybe that's deliberate to make it more menacing, but if that was the case it didn't really work (for me). There were some nicely choreographed fights scenes though.
I saw a version of this that was cut for TV, giving it a 12, rather than a 12A (as the theatrical release) certificate. Four minutes were cut and, I'm guessing, these were the more gruesome scenes. The trouble is this made the film so tame that, quite frankly, I got bored while watching it. Maybe I've become hardened to it over the years, but I found this was toned down a little too far for my liking. Don't get me wrong, I would have no complaint if the narrative kept my interest, but even that kind of lost the plot (excuse the pun) in a few places. I guess the bond between Marcus and Esca was never sealed to any degree and so I found it all a little unconvincing in the end. It's a shame because I really wanted to like this film, but I felt sadly let down by it NOT recommended.
My score: 5.4/10.
IMDb Score: 6.2/10 (based on 23,201 votes at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes 'Tomatometer' Score: 38/100 (based on 143 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes 'Audience' Score: 43/100 (based on 37,533 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.
I saw a version of this that was cut for TV, giving it a 12, rather than a 12A (as the theatrical release) certificate. Four minutes were cut and, I'm guessing, these were the more gruesome scenes. The trouble is this made the film so tame that, quite frankly, I got bored while watching it. Maybe I've become hardened to it over the years, but I found this was toned down a little too far for my liking. Don't get me wrong, I would have no complaint if the narrative kept my interest, but even that kind of lost the plot (excuse the pun) in a few places. I guess the bond between Marcus and Esca was never sealed to any degree and so I found it all a little unconvincing in the end. It's a shame because I really wanted to like this film, but I felt sadly let down by it NOT recommended.
My score: 5.4/10.
IMDb Score: 6.2/10 (based on 23,201 votes at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes 'Tomatometer' Score: 38/100 (based on 143 reviews counted at the time of going to press).
Rotten Tomatoes 'Audience' Score: 43/100 (based on 37,533 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.