Review: The Eagle
With a screenplay adapted by Jeremy Brock from the 1954 novel "The Eagle of the Ninth" by author Rosemary Sutfcliff, The Eagle provides light entertainment for the sandals-and-swords film buffs. This pre-holy Roman Empire tale that was written for young readers has been brought to the big screen for a wider adult audience.
The Eagle centers around the young Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum), a Roman soldier who attempts to restore his family name. His father had been stationed in the northern wilderness of Britain 20 years prior, and had led the the famous Ninth Legion, which disappeared behind Hadrian's Wall and was presumed dead. The symbolic golden eagle of the legion was lost, bringing shame to the Aquila family.
After receiving a promotion to Centurion, Aquila is sent to the northern reaches of Britain to head a fort. Aquila is critically injured while rescuing his men during an attack, for which he is honorably discharged from the army. Recovering at the home of his Uncle Aquila (Donald Sutherland), he struggles with his injuries and frustration at not being able to restore his family's reputation -- being a soldier is all that he has ever desired and known. However, after rescuing the British slave Esca (Jamie Bell), the young Aquila takes up his goal: to cross Hadrian's Wall, confront the savage tribes of the Highlands and bring back the golden eagle.
The sweeping landscapes of The Eagle are starkly beautiful, and I truly believed the characters were making their way across an authentic wilderness in ancient times. The art direction and cinematography held truer than many other period pieces that I've seen that rely heavily on CGI and other special effects and compositing. Director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) takes his time developing the first act, which effectively draws the audience into the characters.
Where The Eagle falls as flat as a Roman sandal is the motivation of the characters -- the relationship between Esca and Aquila is not well-developed in what is essentially a buddy road movie. Which is a shame, as Bell and Tatum seem really committed to their roles. Bell actually comes close to outshining Tatum, but his character's failure to truly desire revenge on the oppressors who killed his tribespeople does not allow him the opportunity to shine.
The Eagle also lacks substantial dialect coaching, which I found unsettling for the first portion of this film. I can appreciate the movement not to follow classical filmmaking standard to overuse a "proper English" accent in period pieces to allow the audience to connect to the characters. However, Tatum starts out with an accent that he then seems to abandon. Some of the actors' New Yorker accents were so pronounced I was taken out of the scene.
Overall, I would say that The Eagle was enjoyable enough to recommend but not at full admission price. It's a decent film, and with much of the violence not actually being shown is a solid PG-13 rating. However, I should also warn men who are looking for a Valentine's date night movie: there are no female characters with dialogue, and no romance, so consider yourself warned.