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Lo and behold, I come to find it's another Saban production (the first I've watched since The Hyperions last year).
Personally, I was interested because when I started Heroineburgh and created a Celtic warrior banshee character, Fianna, I based her origin on the inspiration of Boudica, and she even watches a documentary about Boudica on the History Channel before she transforms and gains her super powers. So, I wanted to finally watch the original story of the historical Celtic warrior queen all the way through.
Apparently, although there have been multiple movies and TV shows about the warrior queen of the Iceni Celts, this is the first one since around 2019. That previous movie apparently makes her story convoluted where she flees an arranged marriage.
This one is a bit more simple and straightforward - she is the loving wife and queen of Iceni king Prasutagus, and must take on the mantle of leading the Celtic tribes against the Romans after she is brutally tortured by flogging by the Roman procurator.
You wanted some extreme violence: here it is. At first, we do get some sexy and romantic with her and her husband, the king.
But, then there's the flogging (definitely some peril) and later on we see the welts all over her back and the brand which was burned into her face.
Not sure how she survives all that, but she does with the help of a warrior woman from her old tribe, the Trinovantes, and then they help the tribes
unite along with a strong male warrior who loves her but she does not return his favor. Nonetheless, he decicates himself to her hopeless cause, and they win a bunch of smaller skirmishes with the Romans, eventually working their way up to fighting the professional legions.
It does not go well. But that is well known from history.
Boudica is played by the gorgeous Ukrainian model and actress Olga Kurylenko, so even in the grittiest moments where she is covered with facepaint (which looks Pictish-inspired) and filled with rage from the heat of battle, she's still pretty hot. (She might have made a convincing Red Sonja.)
If you like an action-filled epic with a warrior woman character based on a real historical figure, you could do worse.
Note: I found a handful of errors.
1. The Romans call individual Celts "brittunculi" (wretched little Brits), but the Latin term for the singular should be "brittunculus" for a single man
and "brittuncula" for a single woman (when referring to Boudica). A bit of a grammar slip-up.
2. Boudica mentions something about the "Northern Saxons" being part of her army. This is obviously an error since the Saxons didn't invade England until 450 AD, and this story takes place almost 400 years earlier.
See if you enjoy this!
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