Almost 2,000 years ago, Rome's Ninth Legion marched north to defuse a tribal uprising in Caledonia (present-day Scotland). Thousands of legionnaires vanished. This often debated historical enigma has become a popular cinematic topic. Last year saw the release of Centurion, which chronicled a small group of Ninth Legion survivors' desperate bid to return home. Now the mysterious fate of the Ninth Legion sets The Eagle's plot in motion.

Directed by Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void, The Last King of Scotland, State of Play), this film is set in Roman Britain two decades after the disappearance. Channing Tatum stars as Marcus Aquila, the son of the Ninth Legion's commander. As the film begins, Marcus has come to Britain to serve Rome and restore honor to his disgraced family. Soon, however, a wound leads to an honorable discharge. Hearing the Ninth Legion's treasured standard, a golden eagle, has been seen in the far north, Marcus decides it is duty to find it. With Esca (Jamie Bell), a British slave whose life he saved, in tow, and against the wishes of his patrician uncle (Donald Sutherland), he sets out into the dangerous territory beyond Hadrian's Wall to start his perilous search.

What I admire most in The Eagle is its tone. It is neither an exercise in CGI-centric, 300-style absurdity nor a self-important film too distacted by prestige to embrace the simple thrill of derring-do (a flaw of Ridley Scott's Robin Hood). The Eagle is grounded and has grit, and a certain fascination with long-lost cultures, yet it also has an innocent swashbuckling quality, similar to the youth-aimed Rosemary Sutcliff novel from which it is adapted.

Macdonald crafts several exciting action sequences, ranging from a large battle with swords, shields, spears, and chariots to more intimate grappling. Similar to Paul Greengrass, his approach to shooting and cutting action is intricate and rapid-fire, giving the sequences a you-are-there appeal. The Eagle was shot by the great D.P. Anthony Dod Mantle (127 Hours), a man who understands how to, with framing, lighting, etc., inculcate an atmospheric sense of dread into shots of nature. Caledonia as seen in The Eagle strongly recalls the nightmare forest of Lars Von Trier's Antichrist, also shot by Mantle.

I have always felt Channing Tatum, despite his eons-from-promising debut in the dreadful Step Up, had potential as an actor (he was decent in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints and Stop-Loss), and this may be his best performance yet. He acquits himself very well, delivering a brooding and convincing performance. Jamie Bell is even better. His character, a native slave, is torn between his loyalty to his people and an oath he swore to the Roman who saved his life. This inner conflict is always clear on Bell's face. A fine supporting cast, including Sutherland, Mark Strong, and underrated character actor Denis O’Hare, provide fine support. The standout may be Tahar Rahim (star of A Prophet), who is compelling and fierce, and near unrecognizable, as a tribal prince. A few critics have lambasted the casting of Americans, including Tatum and Sutherland, in a Roman period piece, which confuses me. It's no more or less realistic than Ancient Roman characters with upper-crust, John Gielgud-esque British accents, which is often the Hollywood norm.

The continued relevance of The Eagle's themes--including imperialism and its potential downfalls--isn't lost on Macdonald. The film casts a stern, cynical, but sensitive eye on Marcus and his single-minded desire to find the an object, an icon ("the eagle is Rome"), no matter the human cost, and there is a great moment near the end where water serves to equalize two enemies who perceive each other as evil and foreign.

This is an exciting, intelligent, and well-crafted adventure film with old-fashioned (or should I say timeless?) charm. It is 2011's first great film and well worth seeing.

A-

Now this is a movie!

Finally, after wading through endless leagues of dreck, what do we find?

The Eagle!!!

It's a kind of a crazy hybrid of Apocalypse Now and The Vikings. The talented director (Kevin Macdonald, who made the superb docudrama Touching The Void), uses it's B movie budget with extraordinary aplomb - - it's shot so that it always maintains the sense that you're in the second century AD, but not so much with buckets of cgi, but rather brushstrokes of good old cinematography and lighting tricks. It's a critique of both imperialism and the noble savage. There are practically no women characters in the whole story, and you don't miss 'em for a second! - - it's Manlyfest 2011. It's a big old historical adventure movie done right!

The acting was perfect for the B movie stylings - - I find Canning Tatum's skills are improving with each movie I see him in, and Jamie Bell played his slave / master with great control - - he really plays an offbeat character well. The rest of the supporting actors (including Donald Sutherland) did their part to weave the spell of dramatic intensity that propelled The Eagle to soaring heights.

This movie won't win any Oscars, but it will win a legion of fans down future ages.


62 out of 5.





(PS: Put me down for an opening night ticket of the hinted at sequel!)

Glad you enjoyed it

You too.

(Nicely written review!)

BJs Grade:

A-

badassery

KJ seems to dig The Eagle, yet the all-seeing oracle of Rotten Tomatoes rates it at 37%.

Is this a joke?

I'm about 35 minutes into it and I can't watch it anymore.

Awful action, terrible acting, but worst of all, what a bullshit script. The dialogue is so immensely, ridiculously unrealistic it's incredible. I've never seen a period movie with such horrible Americanized dialogue. What a joke.

This is the first movie I've ever decided to not finish.

THE EAGLE

Rented this from Netflix. Eh, it was pretty average for me. It had some good action at points but it just didn't do it for me. I thought the acting was bleh as well.

Grade - C

I maintain this is a very undervalued film. It has a real, old-fashioned, earnest sense of adventure and atmosphere. It is always very fun to watch and flies by.

The Eagle

This is an awful film; terrible set design, terrible script and terrible acting from Tatum yet again. My dad, however, loves it, but then he also loves Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakwel, so his opinion is valueless to me. He has the worst taste in movies from anyone I know. He thought Drive was just "alright" but gets excited about Ironclad and Alvin and the - fucking - Chipmunks!

Luckily Tatum hasn't starred in anything that has had potential, so I've not had a movie been ruined solely by his terrible performances. I just hope that one day he doesn't star in a Michael Mann movie or a Tarantino picture because that would be a truly bad decision and would certainly ruin what would otherwise be a great movie.

D

I wouldn't be surprised to hear he also enjoyed John Carter too.

Both JC and The Eagle are examples of old school moviemaking where story was king, not the ADHD style that is popular amongst the kids nowadays.

I'm not sure if he's seen John Carter. I'll ask him in our next correspondence.

Are you trying to imply that because I disliked The Eagle, I am some how a supporter of the "ADHD style" that you mention? Can you give examples of this style, because I think (if you were implying that) that you've got it completely wrong and The Eagle is the exception in a brand of movie-making that I actually adore.