This past weekend I spent at ActionFest. Instead of instant Netflix films this week, I will be talking about the films I saw. Centurion was a World Premiere at Actionfest.

WATCH: Centurion (2010) – NR – Not rated (yet)

“In 2nd-century Britain, Roman fighter Quintas Dias (Michael Fassbender) is the lone survivor of a Pictish attack on a Roman frontier post. Eager for revenge, he joins the Ninth Legion — under General Virilus (Dominic West) — and journeys north on a mission to destroy the Picts. Writer-director Neil Marshalls rousing sword-and-sandals adventure also stars Olga Kurylenko as the beautiful Pict warrior Etain.”

Neil Marshall is one of my favorite up and coming directors. His latest film, Centurion, had its world premiere Thursday night at Actionfest.

His first feature film was the wonderful Dog Soldiers – one of the two best werewolf movies of the last decade (Ginger Snaps being the other one). Dog Soldiers is a very cool low budget military horror movie (there are not enough movies in that subgenre) – marred only by thick accents and British slang which make it a little tricky for American audiences.

He followed that up in 2005 with the incredible The Descent. The Descent is the only horror film of the last decade to actually scare me. It had the misfortune to be released around the same time as The Cave, The Cavern and one other cave related horror movie whose name escapes me. The Descent is the real deal. Not only does it capture an incredible feeling of claustrophobia but also tells a powerful emotional story about characters you care about.

Sadly his third film Doomsday (2008) was not very good.

Centurion is good but not a masterpiece. It was not the best of the Actionfest movies though it was a lot of fun. The cinematography made good use of the impressive terrain and is quite nice to look at without detracting from the narrative.

The violence is not brutal – it is ultra-brutal and occurs constantly throughout the movie. I enjoyed the unflinching carnage with one exception. Much of the blood in the film is CGI. I simply do not understand how we can realistically depict dinosaurs, aliens, spaceships, etc in CGI and yet every time CGI is used for blood spatter, it just looks so fake.

One of the factors I really enjoyed about the narrative was that while our protagonists are Roman soldiers and the story is told from their point-of-view, it is clear that the Romans are just as responsible as the Picts for the events that unfold.

Michael Fassbender is the star here. He had small roles in a number of shows but caught a break when he was cast as Stelios in 300. Most recently he played Lt. Archie Hicox in Inglourious Basterds. He is quite captivating as an action hero. He has a good but not overwhelming presence (which fits in with the story) and certainly has an action physique.

Dominic West steals the show as General Virilus. Like Michael Fassbender, he was also in 300. There he played the despicable Theron with some degree of relish. Here he shows off as the ultimate Roman general with one tiny little weak spot.

Olga Kurylenko has a powerful female role here as the tracker Etain. She is riveting in all of her scenes even though her character is mute. She handles the physicality well and is no stranger to action having previously appeared in Quantum of Solace, Hitman, and Max Payne. She is joined by Axelle Carolyn as another powerful woman.

The rest of the cast is colorful including Ulrich Thomsen as the Pict chief Gorlacon. The other Roman soldiers are given just enough screen time and presence to make them interesting but not quite enough to make us care about them.

There is an incident early in the third act that both sets up and completely gives away the ending. It is unfortunate since Neil Marshall was far more subtle and less-contrived in Descent and Dog Soldiers. My only guess is that it was a push to make the narrative more mainstream.

Ultimately Centurion is a very gory and fun thrill ride. I recommend putting it in your queue for later.

For those who do not know, films can be put in your Netflix queue long before they are released. The Netflix queue can hold 500 films. Mine always fluctuates between 475 and 500. Doing this gives you a good idea when one of your films is coming to instant Netflix.

People Watch: Imogen Poots plays a very intriguing Arian here. She previously played Tammy in 28 Weeks Later and Young Valerie in V for Vendetta.