Well, I certainly didn't expect to see Olga Kurylenko in the role of this very famous British heroin of ancient times, and in fact, at the beginning of the movie I was almost about to call it quits right there and then, since all I could think about were certain mellow and sugary sweet scenes in "Gladiator".
But while in "Gladiator" such scenes were justified by the background story of its hero, here they seemed completely out of order.
This said though, once the true action did finally set in, with the arrival of the Romans and the onslaught they brought with them, the movie started to become quite interesting and even Olga gave a decent interpretation of Boudica (or Boadicea).
Granted, if you came in to watch a factual historic drama then you may have chosen the wrong movie.
This is more a reworked "Legend of", rather than "History of" the famed Warrior Queen, and as such I might even concur with its detractors, since I too had high hopes to actually see a serious historic biopic of the lady, but it seems that every movie maker wants a fairy tale, rather than stick to historic fact. So be it.
So, why on heaven's sake did I give it seven out of ten?
Simple. I liked the two thirds that came after the disjointed first act, despite being once again more legend and dramatic license rather than truly a decent biopic.
But for that one may probably have to resort to a decent mini-series on a streaming media and producer, if ever there will be one. Let's cross our fingers.
But among all the many depictions of Boudica, both filmed for TV or in movie format, there was even one back in the 1960s which was not that bad.
Still, the battle scenes and the brutality on both sides stem from actual historic fact, and just for that, their depictions seem quite accurate indeed.
Besides, the length of the movie betrays the fact that it is not truly destined to become a box office blockbuster, since otherwise more investment should have been made to have a two and a half or three hour movie, which indeed would have been better, and would have enabled the writers and the director to go deeper into historic fact and do more accurate research, despite the opening that guarantees you that it is based on period writings, which it is indeed not. At least not as it should have been.
Still the cast in general manages to hold together in this re-imagined figure of Boudica and even help Olga Kurylenko to hold it all together.
In my view, this is not a bad movie, nor is it a good one. It is a mediocre attempt to bring back such a figure and imagining her as a superhero, which she probably indeed was, at least for the Britons.
It is one of those movies to watch with a grain of salt and not to make too much out of it, since as I said, a true biopic or history drama it is certainly not.
It is particularly good when nothing else seems to be around being of interest.
In other terms, it is good for simple entertainment and fill an afternoon or an evening with something different, and as such it works.
My dearest hope though would be to finally see someone a la Ridley Scott, coming up with finally a well researched and seriously adapted history of the woman called Boudica and her real presence in ancient times.
Besides, Boudica was never killed on the battlefield and instead either died of an illness or simply out of old age.
Again, and as always, it is up to you, the viewer, to decide whether this movie is worth your time.
But while in "Gladiator" such scenes were justified by the background story of its hero, here they seemed completely out of order.
This said though, once the true action did finally set in, with the arrival of the Romans and the onslaught they brought with them, the movie started to become quite interesting and even Olga gave a decent interpretation of Boudica (or Boadicea).
Granted, if you came in to watch a factual historic drama then you may have chosen the wrong movie.
This is more a reworked "Legend of", rather than "History of" the famed Warrior Queen, and as such I might even concur with its detractors, since I too had high hopes to actually see a serious historic biopic of the lady, but it seems that every movie maker wants a fairy tale, rather than stick to historic fact. So be it.
So, why on heaven's sake did I give it seven out of ten?
Simple. I liked the two thirds that came after the disjointed first act, despite being once again more legend and dramatic license rather than truly a decent biopic.
But for that one may probably have to resort to a decent mini-series on a streaming media and producer, if ever there will be one. Let's cross our fingers.
But among all the many depictions of Boudica, both filmed for TV or in movie format, there was even one back in the 1960s which was not that bad.
Still, the battle scenes and the brutality on both sides stem from actual historic fact, and just for that, their depictions seem quite accurate indeed.
Besides, the length of the movie betrays the fact that it is not truly destined to become a box office blockbuster, since otherwise more investment should have been made to have a two and a half or three hour movie, which indeed would have been better, and would have enabled the writers and the director to go deeper into historic fact and do more accurate research, despite the opening that guarantees you that it is based on period writings, which it is indeed not. At least not as it should have been.
Still the cast in general manages to hold together in this re-imagined figure of Boudica and even help Olga Kurylenko to hold it all together.
In my view, this is not a bad movie, nor is it a good one. It is a mediocre attempt to bring back such a figure and imagining her as a superhero, which she probably indeed was, at least for the Britons.
It is one of those movies to watch with a grain of salt and not to make too much out of it, since as I said, a true biopic or history drama it is certainly not.
It is particularly good when nothing else seems to be around being of interest.
In other terms, it is good for simple entertainment and fill an afternoon or an evening with something different, and as such it works.
My dearest hope though would be to finally see someone a la Ridley Scott, coming up with finally a well researched and seriously adapted history of the woman called Boudica and her real presence in ancient times.
Besides, Boudica was never killed on the battlefield and instead either died of an illness or simply out of old age.
Again, and as always, it is up to you, the viewer, to decide whether this movie is worth your time.