The Eagle Released 25 March 2011 Director Kevin MacDonald Starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, Mark Strong, Tahar Rahim, Denis O'Hare Writer(s) Jeremy Brock Producer(s) Duncan Kenworthy Origin United States, United Kingdom Running Time 114 minutes Genre Drama, adventure Rating 12A

60

Bronze Standard.

Swords and Sandals movies are always a notoriously tricky thing to pull off. Ever since Spartacus and Ben-Hur chariot raced their way onto the silver screen, the bar has been set and seldom is it surpassed. After several dismal-indeed some may even say mediocre- attempts to try and create some kind of historical epic, there was a lull. It appeared that Hollywood had fallen out of love with the wizened odes of Homer et al. And then along came Gladiator and Russell Crowe. Suddenly a new wave of noughties takes on ancient history came flooding into omniplexes from here to Pensacola. The Eagle is next in a long list of fairly average productions yet with a top notch director, Kevin MacDonald (Last King of Scotland) and a rather intriguing subject matter, this movie seemed to offer more than your average blood and barbarians running amok.

It still seems hard to fathom how far west the mighty Roman Empire stretched. Only for the little that old Hibernia offered to the avaristic plundering Romans and the fact that the woad-haired painted tribes appeared to have rather a firm grip on the forested scape, we too could have inherited a country dotted with forts and littered with Roman coins. Wales and England were not quite so lucky. Despite brave staged rebellions from the indigenous tribes, the mighty Roman Legions managed to conquer all and sundry-except for those of the far North. As with many facets of history, myth and fact are oftentimes intertwined and it is exceedingly difficult to distinguish between the two. It is at this stage of Romano Britain history that The Eagle takes up its story. Despite the fact that academics waylay the now infamous claim that the IX Legion-ordered up North to impose Roman authority on rebellious Picts-mysteriously disappeared and the Eagle-the Roman Gold Standard-never recovered, many still prefer to subscribe to the romanticised tale.

Twenty years after the disappearance of the Ninth, young centurion Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum), arrives in Roman Britain to try to restore his family's good reputation and discover the truth behind the loss of the Eagle and the men who marched under the command of his own Father. Taking his slave Esca (Jamie Bell), Marcus goes north of Hadrian’s Wall, into the unchartered territory of the Scottish mountains. Finding the Eagle and the circumstances of its disappearance tests not only the duos endurance but also their loyalty to one another and to their country.

Cynicism is rife in movie reviewing and no more so than in the genre of historical epics. The last ten years have churned up such a load of rubbish movies that expectations were at an all time low. That plus the fact that Channing Tatum is mainly known for his role as a well honed dancer in Step Up meant that The Eagle had a lot to prove. First off, Tatum is really quite good. It appears that he has taken guidance more from Russell Crowe in Gladiator and less Brad Pitt in Troy, which could have been an easy trap to fall into given his pretty face. His accent, presence and world-weary air is really quite realistic and is offset nicely by the menace surrounding the Roman outpost that he is managing. While some of the Roman forts maintain a rather set-like appearance, the acting of a good ensemble cast, including veteran Donald Sutherland, make up for this minor fault. Jamie Bell is suitably brawny as the canny Esca-a slave in his own land-whose loyalty is severely tested the further he and Marcus venture north. The sweeping panoramic views of the Scottish Highlands and the faintly terrifying appearance of the Seal Prince and his painted tribe are all very effective but all in all, nothing really propels The Eagle into masterpiece territory. It is more about the relationship between master and slave than about one man avenging his father's lost reputation.

- Louisa McElwee