Box Office Review - The Eagle

The Eagle is impressive as it is able to blend three movies into one without becoming a cluttered mess. The movie opens as a men at war film, then becomes a men on a mission film, and finally ends as a chase movie. These three parts are held together by the theme of honour. The most interesting part of the film is how it portrays this theme. It shows that there is honour among men, family and even enemies. Through doing this the movie is able to portray both the Romans and Britons side of the stories sympathetically.

The Eagle follows Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) a young centurion who is the son of the Commander of the lost legion of the ninth. The ninth legion had and lost the Eagle of Rome, and this has shamed Marcus to go on a quest to redeem his families name. After a series of events he heads into enemy territory with his slave Esca (Jamie Bell) to find the lost eagle. Going into the film I was sure that Tatum would be in the shadow of the acting power of Jamie Bell, but Tatum gives a good performance. They play well off each other, and the evolution of their characters is believable. The action scenes are good, but are scattered throughout the film. I am sure this will bother people. It however doesn't bother me. The first battle scene features the use of the tortoise formation, and it is the best portrayal of this tactic I have seen on film. The Eagle is a satisfying watch, and it is nice to see a sword & sandal film that doesn't rely on CG.

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