Good start, but then it gets ruined

Fantastic!

A Masterpiece!

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

I have only given it 2 as Edward Fox is as splendid as always. The story jumps all over the place, it is historical nonesense and utterly confusing. Some of the acting is worse than dire and the direction is appalling. Peter o'toole is sadly wasted but even with a better script this would have been a film too many for him.I can understand why this film was not given wider publicity - it is rubbish and you will be wasting your time watching it.

I had never heard of Katherine of Alexandria. Fall of an Empire sounds like an action movie with epic battles. You'll be very disappointed, it is a disjointed tale with no coherent story, poor actors. acting and dialog. There are scenes from Hadrian's Wall with "Amazon Type" female barbarian warriors, at times it seemed like we were entering a Monty Python world. Two of us watched this but neither understood what the story was about and soon lost interest in the characters. Quite simply it was boring. I take it from Catherine's demise that this is where the "Catherine Wheel" in fireworks originates if so that was the only sparkle in this dire film. I recently reviewed the Homesman with Tommy Lee Jones and felt it was so bad that I had to warn the public that this was not worth the time spent watching. This film falls into the same category. One reviewer says that this is a low budget film but I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would waste their time time never mind money on making this garbage.

Decline of an Empire, tells the story of St. Katherine of Alexandria, a young woman of noble birth, who was highly educated in languages, religions, and philosophy. Enthralled by her beauty, the pagan emperor Maxentius has her brought to the palace, hoping that she will later become his mistress, much to the dismay of his own wife, Valeria. Meanwhile, in the British isles, Barbarian women have gone to battle against the Romans, as there are no men left to protect their clans. They have received messages from Katherine of the onslaughts of Christians throughout the empire. Back home, the Roman philosophers challenge Katherine on her faith in God, hoping that she will renounce Him, and return to the Roman religion. Katherine's knowledge in Roman religion, makes her victorious over all of them, and for her treason, she is killed for her Christian faith.

DECLINE OF AN EMPIRE The rise of movie standardsAt last, a movie that has scuppered the know-alls, and one that is so different it has the bedroom cynics stumped, and what do they do? flick through Google, see which gods were Roman and which were Greek, but then pause, think for a moment, and choose to stay safe by issuing profound statements such as: the main actors were good (really?) but wait: that others were not (the mind boggles at such knowledge) Criticise the costumes, yep, that's a great idea…..Oh, and have a go at the accents of some of the barbarians. Isn't it great when some of these critics appear so un-learned that they can't choose even a single line to attack from the superbly worded trial scene for example, where Katherine (Nicole Keniheart) comes head-to- head with other superb performers like Joss Ackland.CAN WE DEAL WITH THE SUBJECT MATTER NOW. One critic stated "I watch a lot of movies". Yep, I've seen a lot of motorways, but I don't know how they are constructed, I just drive on them, but I promise I'll stop doing that today…honest. Decline of an Empire was indeed misleading in it's advertising, and portrays the story of Saint Katherine who by the way was in fact around at the time of Constantine the great. Proof of such is the Roman coin/s encased in London which depict Katherine and her wheel on one side and constantine on the other. I haven't noticed any British coins with Saddam Hussain on one side and the Queen on the other, so I guess Constantine might possibly have been aware of Katherine duh. I like the bravado of the British producers in tackling subjects that no-one dares mention, like the listing of gods, Greek and Roman, (absolutely correct) The hitherto unknown happenings at that trial in Alexandria, which I understand can be referenced from a 12th century book containing 4th century publications, which allegedly accurately relate to what was said at Katherine's trial. The dialogue used (unique to say the least) and the " Don't let the wheels show" acting by Keniheart made the situation very real indeed. COSTUMES The 4th century references on the lack of supplies would certainly be correct because those latter armies got nothing for years from dried up Roman suppliers. It was grab anything and everything during those desperate years before going back to their respective countries. Look at any modern war, and it always turns out the same. WW2, where do you think Jerry-cans came from?, Zeiss, Arriflex, etc. All nicked from the enemy. I like the comedic scenes, in that comedy is very much part of war, being a survival mechanism. There are so many topics covered in this film (albeit too briefly at times) that it will require more viewing with a notepad, but then I have to remember, it's just a film, for entertainment, and I don't want to ever become a bedroom critic, but I do want to see this film impact upon those people who do not look at their banks for spiritual leadership. Well done the Brits.