Synopsis
Atti is forced to join the Roman Army after falling foul of Emperor Nero and is sent to Britain to join the fight against Boudicca's uprising. There he's captured by Orla, the daughter of a Celt tribe leader who wants nothing more than to become a warrior. With his brains and her brawn they try to take on every obstacle that gets in their way.
Review
I only just came across Horrible Histories when I was growing up, I had not long been in secondary school when the first ones were published. When I started working with books I'd flick through the odd copy and pick up some fun facts. More recently I've also caught the odd clip of the TV show. Every encounter I've had with the franchise has been fun so I've been looking forward to the Rotten Romans coming to the big screen.
Our tale winds together the stories of Atti, a Roman teenager with a passion for knowledge, and Orla, a tribe leader's daughter who wants to become a warrior. This sees us begin in Roman where Atti manages to get Emperor Nero covered in horse pee and he's banished to the army bound for Britain. Sebastian Croft plays Atti and he really does look the part. He looks exactly like a Horrible History Roman soldier and it's magnificent. Emilia Jones plays our heroic Orla, her timing and reactions are impeccable. The pair together make for a very dynamic duo and they bounce off each other well to keep their scenes entertaining.
They're supported by a cast of very familiar faces from stage and screen. Seeing Kim Cattrall and Derek Jacobi in a scene together blew my mind a little bit. I enjoyed Nick Frost as Arghus, Orla's father. I've been finding his recent roles a little too... angry(?) for my liking, but this was a great bit of casting.
There are lots of little snippets throughout for the parents to get amusement from, but there's no denying that this is a kids' film more than a family film. It feels very much like something you'd see on TV and not on the big screen, the scaling up of the show doesn't feel like it quite fits in this format.
The script makes it feel like TV acting, and we're given a lot of repetitive elements. Looking back now, I'm finding it hard to remember a scene starring Lee Mack as Decimus where he didn't look wistfully off into the distance to think about Rome, there are only so many times you can make that funny. Rupert Graves also suffers a similar fate as Paulinus with his speech giving. That joke comes several times in quick succession and while everyone reacts well to it each time it doesn't quite hit the mark after its first outing.
It probably didn't need to be 92 minutes long, but that being said there are not many bits that I would find it easy to cut. I enjoyed most of them, but they don't feel like they cut together well as a feature film, it still has a "sketch show" vibe to it.
Rotten Romans will be a winner with the kids though, and as it's releasing at the end of the month it'll certainly get the summer holidays off to a flying start. The acting is a saving grace in some scenes, and you're treated to some fun musical numbers as well, there are much worse ways to spend an hour and a half.
Stay to the end of the credit, they aren't very long and you get some fun little added extra.
What you should do
If you're stuck for something to do then this would be a good diversion if you've got kids of primary school age.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
One life-sized cardboard cut out of Rupert Graves dressed as Paulinus, please.
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