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O.K. I get your point. There are always pictures out there even trashier than I could imagine.

But, having seen Patriot, Braveheart, and the outtakes and reviews on The Passion, I'll have to reserve judgement on Boudicca.

But I read the original story - can't remember if it was Tacitus or another ancient source, but I'm sure Gibson will dwell on Boudicca and her daugthers' treatment by ANOTHER corrupt and venal Roman politician and his thugs, AND the revenge of the Iceni.

Like the Passion, this will, I'm sure, be presented as a "snapshot" in time - the Evil Romans, the wronged Iceni and other Britons, etc.

The fact is the entire Roman empire was controlled by a remarkably small number of legions, most of which were involved in guarding the borders. If itwas such a miserable place to live in, a much larger army would have been needed.

Britain became a relatively calm place after the native tribes realized the taxes they paid were hardly more than they paid to their own former overlords and the Romans were far more effective in controlling the Picts and other unsavory people.

Besides, they found themselves in the largest free trade market until relatively modern times.

With the exception of Judaea, which is still a hotbed of problems, most residents of the empire were relatively better off than people beyond the frontier. Nobody ever tried to break OUT of the empire, but as today in the U.S., many people were always trying to break in.

Pax tecum.