Sorry, this movie sucks

Fresh and Exciting

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

Released to TV in 2001 and directed by Dick Lowry, "Attila" is a historical epic taking place during the waning days of the Roman Empire in the first half of the 5th century where a barbarian named Attila (Gerard Butler) assumes Hun leadership and unites the divided clans. Attila seeks to form an empire and views Rome, under the incompetent leadership of Caesar Valentinian (Reg Rogers), ripe for Conquest. To quell a Hun invasion, ambitious General Flavius Aetius (Powers Boothe) attempts to form an alliance with Attila against their mutual enemy, Visigoth King Theodoric (Liam Cunningham). But the strategy backfires and there must be a showdown between the three armies. Pauline Lynch and Tommy Flanagan stand out as Attila's soothsayer and rivalrous brother respectively. Kirsty Mitchell and Alice Krige are likewise on hand as Valentinian's sister and mother while Simmone Mackinnon shines as Attila's love interest in an interesting dual role. Kate Steavenson-Payne plays Aetius' daughter and Tim Curry the ruler of the Eastern Empire, Theodosius. I wasn't expecting much from "Attila," especially after seeing the contemporaneous TV epic "Druids," which is astonishingly amateurish (albeit worthwhile in a so-bad-it's-good way), but I was pleasantly surprised. Despite its TV-budget limitations, "Attila" is one of the greatest sword & sandal flicks I've ever seen. "Braveheart"? "Gladiator"? These pale in comparison. No kidding. Not in the realm of technical quality, since those movies cost way more to make, but in the realm of quality characters and compelling story. Sure, there's a comic book tone to the proceedings, but the story moves briskly, never getting bogged down, and the complications of the events are made palatable. The cinematography, costumes, score and locations are notable, although some of the Roman sets are dubious. Butler makes for a worthy protagonist even though it is said that the barrel-chested Attila was short of stature with half-Asian features (Gerard is 6'2" and Scottish). There are several historical inaccuracies, but no more so than the two hailed movies noted above. The film runs 177 minutes and was shot in Lithuania. GRADE: A-

Attila the Hun. It's a name that conjurers up the deepest feeling of fear in those who hold civilization in high regard, so much so the very name itself has become a by word for barbarian and brutality. With that said, what better character to focus on than in an exclusive two part mini-series, like the 2001 USA Network produced "Attila" does. Starring Gerard Butler in the title role, it's a film that dives into the late stage of Roman history, the rise and increasing strength of the barbarians who would eventually overtake her, and of course, Attila and his ferocious Huns. In the beginning of the film, we are told that Rome, "although weak, decadent, and corrupt", is still the most powerful nation on earth. Then a new people, the Huns, appear on the scene, to challenge the might of Rome herself (Shivers!). From this, we are introduced to Attila as a boy living with his tribe on the Hungarian plains, when one day, a raiding party murders his father and immediate family and it is only through his wits and refusal to back down that Attila survives. After being taken in by his Uncle Rua (Steven Berkoff), Attila grows up to be a master warrior and strategist, competing with his brother Bleda (Chibs himself, Tommy Flanagan) just as much as he is with his uncle's reluctance to take on Rome. He soon gets his chance, though, through a series of events that start with recently released Roman general Flavius Aetius (Powers Booth) coming to the Huns to ask their help in defeating a group of Goths, another barbarian group, who are threatening Gaul (Modern day France). While at first an ally of Aetius and Rome, Attila eventually gains enough power of his own to ransack and invade the Eastern Roman Empire and in time, the West as well. Everything leads up to a battle of wills between the forces of civilization and the barbarian horde, or so the Romans would have us believe. In truth, as history tells us, the Romans were just as savage and conniving in their own way and through this film, we are able to see that as well."Attila", although not a perfect film, is entertaining and a fun way to view some history. As far as acting is considered, Gerard Butler pulls the head role off without a hitch. Determined to lead his people to greatness, we never feel that Butler isn't giving it his all in the role, be he riding his horse into battle or acting with depth in the dramatic scenes involving his true love, N'Kara (Simmone Mackinnon). Believing it his destiny to conquer and rule the world, we feel eager for Butler's Attila to succeed, though it should probably be noted that the real Attila was someone who wasn't afraid to massacre people and even whole cities if it suited his purposes and to be fair, the film does show a little bit of that here and there. As to the other roles, everyone here hits their mark, whether it's Power Booth as the scheming but somewhat noble Aetius, Reg Rogers as the childish Emperor Valentinian, Alice Krige as his conniving mother, Placida, or Simmone Mackinnon in the dual roles of N'Kara and Ildico and many more who I don't have the space for. Another plus is the ability of the filmmakers to add a little bit of magic, prophecy, and intrigue to the history the film is depicting. Director Dick Lowry and writer Robert Cochran should be congratulated for making us, the audience, root for the "Scourge of God". Even though this was produced on a television budget, "Attila" manages to do a reasonably good job of transporting us back in time, albeit with a few inaccuracies. Many of these you can find on IMDb's goofs page, but one prominent example is the Roman uniforms used in the film. By this time, the Roman Empire of Caesar and Augustus was but a distant memory. Rome at this time was broken into two empires - one in the east, the other the west - and was all but relying on barbarian tribes for its defense, which often involved pitting one group against the other. So one would not have seen the impressive legionaries uniforms during this time that you see here. Another big one involves the Huns themselves, who probably would have had Asian features instead of Caucasian ones (Interesting thing about the Huns, though, is that we're still not sure where they actually first came from and it's quite possible they may have intermingled with other peoples during their migration to and time in Europe). Still, mistakes aside, the movie boasts some decently done battle scenes, good action, captivating story telling, and a little bit of sex appeal. "Attila" may not be the most accurate look at the Huns and late Roman history, but why let that spoil a good story? And besides, at the very least, the movie may serve to inspire people to look into the real history of Attila the Hun, as it did me when I saw it as a young boy in my mother's living room all those years ago. And on that note, check out some historical fun and intrigue with 2001's "Attila".

The writer of this movie obviously was unfamiliar with the true history of The Huns. Possibly he wrote it giving Attila the Hun's life a similarity to the King Arthur story. Maybe even with a twist of Harry Potter. It is terrible, and the writer should be ashamed. The dialogue stinks. In my opinion, this movie is awful. It is a "B" movie, which is mostly historically inaccurate. I do not recommended it as an informative movie, or teaching aid. Anyone not knowing Attila or The Huns will have the wrong idea about him/them after watching this movie. This movie is also a great discredit to the legacy of The Huns as well as any descendants of The Huns. I should hope someday, someone comes out with an modern epic movie of Attila the Hun, and that it is accurate and far better than this lame movie.

My name is Laura and I am a Gerard Butler Addict! Yes people I admit it - have been for years and I have to say this is one of my personal favourites, although it wasn't till i became a fan that i found out it existed! And its not just because of the torso! Gerard is fantastic (had i not been a fan i would have said that anyway!) he goes head first into every battle making you root for the Huns and not really caring if they come and destroy your village! And on the flip side you wanna be the one ripping his clothes off (did you see that torso??) and shouting 'Nooooooo!' at the telly when he gets murdered at the end!I had heard of Powers Boothe before seeing 'Attila' but had never seen anything he'd done but i was pleasantly surprised! That man looks kinda scary when he wants too! The plot line does run a bit thin in places but you can forgive them that - theirs plenty of other things to keep you going. The fight scenes are fantastic in places though you wish they weren't as long because they tend to drag.All in all, i totally enjoyed this one - its got bits for everyone - fantastic looking fella (love him!), you got the pretty lady for the boys, you got Romans, you got big fight scenes, its got the rocky horror God himself in it (Tim Curry), its got a big bath and it has Powers Boothe pulling menacing faces! What more could you want???