The Eagle Movie Review.

Title: The Eagle.

Starring: Channing Tatum {Marcus Aquila}, Jamie Bell {Esca}, Donald Sutherland {Uncle Aquila} and Tahar Rahim {Seal Prince}.

Year of Release: 2011.

Genre: Historical Fiction, Drama, Action/Adventure, Epic, Instant Classic.

Plot: Rome was once a mighty empire that stretched across the map of the known world and conquered a great many countries and scattered tribes, uniting them, willingly or not, under one ruler. Capturing Britain was probably the hardest struggle the fierce Romans had ever endured. Set in the midst of this conquest is the epic story of Marcus and Esca. Marcus is a young Roman commander in Southern Britain. Rumors concerning his father, the commander of the Ninth Legion that disappeared twenty years before, abound and cast their dark shadow on the ambitious young man as he takes up his first command. Not even a week after his arrival Marcus awakens in the night and rouses the whole garrison; an action which ultimately saves their lives but ends his military career.

Badly wounded, Marcus is sent to his uncle’s house to recover. While doing so he accompanies his uncle to a miniature version of one of the infamous sporting events so well known when thinking of Rome. When a gladiator faces off with a slender Britain slave, interest in the match perks up for the audience while Marcus looks disgusted; that is, until the slave throws down his weapons. Curious, Marcus watches the grueling unequal fight and then does the most surprising thing. He saves the slave’s life. His uncle then buys the slave for Marcus who really does need someone to help him as he undergoes surgery on his bad leg. Esca, despite his intense dislike for all things Rome, knows he owes his life to Marcus and vows never to abandon him.

This vow comes into play when Marcus, thoroughly tired of everyone bad-mouthing his family name, decides to reclaim his family’s honor by tracking down the golden eagle which was lost along with his father’s legion so many years ago. A wall had since been built separating the conquered portion of Britain from the wild untamed northern portion. Once beyond this wall, Marcus and Esca are on their own and their lives depend upon each as they embark on an epic quest.

Likes/Dislikes: I loved this movie from beginning to ending. It has a wonderful pace, not too fast and not too slow, good plot, strong characters and beautiful scenery. The two main characters work wonderfully well together and it’s exciting to watch as the tension in their relationship relaxes and turns into friendship. The music is also wonderful. There is, of course, several fight scenes and some blood. A young boy is killed in one scene and another boy has his throat slit though thankfully there is no blood or nasty squelching sound effects in any of the battle or death scenes. Marcus takes a beating throughout most of the film which was fine with me but other, more sensitive viewers might not like this. An enjoyable bonus to the movie is that there is no romance at all! And it’s based off a book by Rosemary Sutcliff and you know that a movie based off a book is often better than just any old movie somebody thought up. ;)

Rating: PG-13. My personal rating is PG-15 and up based on content and audience maturity. Highly recommended nonetheless!

Date Report Written: July 22, 2011.