The Eagle (2011)/Movie Review

Release Date: 11 February 2011 (USA)  Runtime: 114 min

Genres: Adventure | Drama

 Also Known As:The Eagle of the Ninth

Filming Locations:  Achiltibuie, Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland, UK

STORYLINE

In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila (Tatum) arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca (Bell), Marcus sets out across Hadrian's Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia - to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father's memory, and retrieve the lost legion's golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth.

Directed by  Kevin Macdonald

Writing credits : Jeremy Brock & Rosemary Sutcliff

Original Music by Atli Örvarsson

Cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle

Box Office

Budget: $25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend: $8,684,464 (USA) (13 February 2011) (2296 Screens)

Gross: $19,478,384 (USA) (3 April 2011)

Production Co: Focus Features, Film4, Toledo Productions

MAIN CASTS:

 Channing Tatum , Marcus Aquila , Cohort Centurion , Bence Gerö , Denis O'HarePaul Ritter , Zsolt László , Julian Lewis Jones , Aladár Laklóth , Marcell Miklós , Bálint Magyar, Ferenc Pataki , Bálint Antal , Lukács Bicskey , Douglas Henshall , James Hayes

REVIEW

I went into this movie not knowing what to expect, and in the end I was rather pleased with it. Beautiful cinematography, great fight scenes, an interesting story . . . The movie also pays incredible attention to detail and is not afraid of a little dirt; one small thing that stood out to me is when they're eating dinner at the uncle's house, and it's kind of dark in there. Movies are always trying to convince us that a few candles light a house just as well as modern electric lights, but this one reminds us that no, they're candles. It's little things like that I found compelling: the characters acquire dirt and grime as they travel, the costumes and buildings are quite detailed, the Britons up in the north speak Gaelic and nothing but Gaelic. Often in movies with foreign languages, the characters will speak that foreign language for a few lines then switch into English. But the Britons keep up their Gaelic, and they speak it smoothly and fluently, too.

I really liked Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell, too. Tatum seems to be trying to speak very properly and it's rather odd, but he's good as a stoic young man who wants to be honorable and is tired of spending his entire life being chastised for a mistake that he did not make. Jamie Bell is rather fantastic as the slave who has every reason to hate Rome except for his growing respect for his Roman master; he's unpredictable and tortured and terribly interesting to watch.