The Eagle is a strange one for me to peg. I'd only seen the trailer once and wasn't particularly fussed about seeing the film either way. But as I've said before, I always feel I should get the most out of my Cineworld membership and so I try to see as many films as I can, that are as diverse as Cineworld allows.
So I went to see The Eagle. I wanted to see Limitless again, if just for the sight of Bradley Cooper in his tiny black shorts, but my cinema buddy wanted to see The Eagle over Limitless so we went with The Eagle.
The film is set around 140 AD, the Roman's have invaded Britain and set up their stronghold in the south. Roman Centurion Marcus Aquila decides to undertake a journey to the savage north to retrieve 'The Eagle', an artifact lost by his father when he commanded the Ninth Legion of the Roman Army and brought disgrace to the family name. Aquila, determined to bring back 'The Eagle' and restore his family's reputation, sets out on this journey with only his British slave Esca to help him navigate the treacherous north.
Despite the film not really being my cup of tea I was pleasantly surprised by The Eagle. For one, the acting's not half bad. Channing Tatum, who I expected to just stand around with his shirt off looking pretty, actually pitched in with the fighting, getting as mucky as everyone else, and looking pretty beaten up and really quite sickly in some scenes. Hats off to him for at least getting in on the action. Jamie Bell, who I've never really taken to, was similarly watchable and both were convincing enough in their roles.
What I will say is that the film really does try. It tries, and I would say succeeds, at not being a Gladiator rip off, it stands apart and tells a different story entirely. The only similarity being the 'swords and sandles' description which the film unfortunately can't escape being saddled with. It is what it is. But for me the similarities end there. It also tries to be as historically accurate as it can be, with depictions of how and why Hadrian's Wall was built, the inhabitants of the north during that time, how Romans built their fortresses etc.
Despite it's efforts I still found the film to be a little dull in places but as I said, it's not really my cup of tea. I don't mean to be vague, I also don't want to sound as if I'd given up on The Eagle before I walked into the cinema but some films, no matter how much you want to like them, don't work for whatever reason. For me, I felt that The Eagle worked better than I expected it to, but that doesn't mean I loved it.
If you're a guy, or particularly like your swords to be wielded by men in skirts and sandles, then you'll probably really enjoy The Eagle. If you're a girl, chances are you'd rather re-watch Dear John or Step Up. 6 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 29th March 2011
UK Release Date - 25th March 2011
Cast Overview:
Channing Tatum ~ Marcus Aquila
Jamie Bell ~ Esca
Donald Southerland ~ Uncle Aquila
Mark Strong ~ Guern
Tahar Rahim ~ Seal Prince
Denis O'Hare ~ Lutorius
Douglas Henshall ~ Cradoc
Director ~ Kevin MacDonald
Writer(s) ~ Jeremy Brock (Screenplay) and Rosemary Sutcliff (Novel)
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