The Eagle

The Eagle (2011)

Runtime: 114 minutes

Directed by: Kevin Macdonald

Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Mark Strong, Tahar Rahim, Donald Sutherland

From: Focus Features

Here is a random movie I imagine the general public has forgotten, if they ever remembered it. For those that have seen Neil Marshall's Centurion before, that is a natural companion piece to Neil Marshall's Centurion, as that covers the Ninth Legion of the Imperial Roman Army when they vanish in the northern part of Great Britain (a real life incident; no one knows what happened to them except that records of them suddenly stop, so one of the theories was that they were attacked and wiped out) and this movie also deals with the Ninth being wiped out, only this time it's years later and the son of that general is looking to both redeem his father's honor and recover the titular eagle, which was a symbol that was carried around by all legions and it was viewed as being extremely important to the Roman Army; it went missing also.

That son happens to be played by Channing Tatum! It is a little silly, but there are some silly moments throughout. Anyhow, he did not ask for one but because of circumstances he happens to get a British slave, played by Jamie Bell. They go into the wilds of northern Britain to both find out what happened to the Ninth Legion and find that eagle. The film is standard and offers little in the way of surprises; it's competently made and while it's unfortunate the action was shot that way so it could be a PG-13 (I saw an unrated version which only adds in a few shots and even those aren't too terribly graphic) I otherwise can't really complain.

I understand the film was mis-marketed, which would explain why it got a low C+ Cinemascore. It's not an action extravaganza, so it's not like Centurion. Rather, this is more about story than the few action scenes that occur. It's about the two leads interacting with each other, family and restoring one's honor. The movie does not belong in the category of must-see flicks but it is fine overall and among other things, it does have a good musical score. I watched Centurion long before I joined this site in 2013 so I have no review up for it-I can tell you I was not a fan and it's disappointing as Neil Marshall is usually cool with me. I did not like how it was filmed and if you want an example of incredibly stock, generic characters & dialogue...