Overlooking the absolute absurdity of two men wandering off into northern Britain to find a venerated piece of Roman identity and returning alive with it, the film does make some fairly noble attempts at recreating 2nd century AD life in Roman Britain.
The film opens pretty strongly and there is some rather stunning cinematography, but once Tatum and Bell pass through Hadrian's Wall and enter the wilds of the far north, the story descends into a totally predictable adventure. And what's more, the filmmakers came up with two equally hopeless endings (one is included as an alternate ending on the DVD).
The Seal People, a vicious tribe living 'somewhere' up there, are depicted as being psychotic killers and are no better than old Hollywood films that depicted native American Indians in the same way. And besides, The Seal People aren't based on any actual people or culture indigenous to the place and the time. They are a complete construct and a cliched one at that.
Jamie Bell seems to be enjoying the journey but Channing Tatum looks rather lost and bewildered in those cold northern climes. He appears to be trying to get into the it all, but I wonder if his heart was really in it.
Still, this film is a better historical recreation than what is usually produced and if you just want a simple story with lots of (rather well done) sword fighting, then have a look.
**1/2 out of *****
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