The Eagle

The Eagle

When The Eagle was first announced, it seemed like an oddity to me. Now, I love a good ol' Roman adventure. Everyone knows that if a movie has a sword fight in it, I'll make sure to watch it at some point.  But this one was a bit odd. It is an adventure written and directed by the team behind the Oscar-winning, intense drama Last King of Scotland, and starring Channing Tatum - the pretty boy dude from G.I.Joe, Dear John, and the dance flick Step Up. Tatum is about as modern day America as you can get. The very image of him strutting around in legionary armor was offputting. But my skepticism didn't matter. It was a sword movie. I was going to see it.

Based on the popular novel, "The Eagle of the Ninth," The Eagle is about Marcus Aquila, the new commander of a frontier post in Britain. He volunteered to serve in Britain, generally considered the edge of civilization and a bit of a dump by his colleagues. It seems that twenty years before, his father led the Ninth Legion out into the barren northlands (Scotland) and was massacred. But more important to Roman prestige than the casualties is that the legionary eagle, the symbol of the might and honor of Rome, was captured. This is a great shame that stains not only the legion, but its commander's children - Aquila has come to Britain to reclaim his family's honor. Unfortunately, before he gets a chance, Aquila is wounded in battle. So I guess there will be no reclaiming any honor for him...bummer.

Lucky for him, rumors begin to surface that the Ninth's Eagle has been seen in the far north. Aquila, accompanied only by his British slave, Esca (Jamie Bell) travels deep into wild and bleak enemy territory to recover it and his family's honor.

The first surprise is that The Eagle is actually pretty good! It's not amazing, but it is a fun, little adventure film, with good characters, some exciting fight scenes and a neat premise. Director Peter MacDonald seems to be going out of his way to make a western, albeit one that takes place in ancient Britain. All the cliches from the classic Hollywood western are here and used to good effect - the frontier fort in the bleak wilderness, the disciplined, occupying army representing "civilization" and the "unruly" native population, who of course have a really good reasons for not liking the U.S. Cavalry - oops, I mean the Roman Army. For much of the run-time, The Eagle tries to be one of those John Ford cavalry films from the 1940s, especially in its superb use of the natural British landscape. Only in this case, instead of John Wayne, we have Channing Tatum.

And Tatum is actually the film's second surprise. He not only holds his own, he's actually really good. The script lets him down at times, filling him with a few silly lines of bravado, honor and fury that don't quite ring true, but the fault is not Tatum's. For the most part, he is appropriately heroic and looks perfectly at home in the period sets and costumes, even in the legionary armor. In terms of the other actors, Jamie Bell is terrific as the slave Esca, and the other actors are solid enough to get the job done. There are a few exceptions. Donald Sutherland, as Aquila's uncle, just sticks out like a sore thumb, looking out of place and uncomfortable. In terms of the performances, the movie also commits one huge folly - the script manages to take an actor who is effortlessly interesting, Mark Strong (Robin Hood), and make him boring. I blame the script for letting down this great actor in what should have been a cool and empathetic role.

Overall, the movie also gets a bit flaky in the end, with miraculous recoveries and a badly edited climactic battle. But up to that point, this is a solid movie and a lot better than I expected. If you like old school adventure films, sword movies or Westerns, since that really is what The Eagle is, than I definitely suggest you check it out. 

MVP: The dancing kid Billy Elliot is now all grown up and he is pretty badass. Jamie Bell is the easy MVP of The Eagle. He has a difficult role - why would Esca, a British slave whose whole family has been brutally murdered by the Romans so willingly help out his enemy? There is no promise of freedom or reward. He just gives his word that he will help Aquila find the Eagle. I would normally question this, but Bell sells it. His facial expressions magnificently capture his conflicting emotions - both his hatred and respect for the Romans, and both his disdain and admiration for Aquila. Plus, he shares a good chemistry with Tatum. I wouldn't mind seeing the two of them on a further adventure somewhere down the road. Congrats, Jamie Bell, the MVP is yours!

TRIVIA: Aquila is Latin for "eagle."

BEST LINE: Aquila: "The Eagle is not a piece of medal. The Eagle is Rome."