The Eagle (2011)

In Roman-ruled Britain, a young Roman soldier endeavors to honor his father's memory by finding his lost legion's golden emblem.

Director:

Kevin Macdonald

Writers:

Jeremy Brock (screenplay), Rosemary Sutcliff (novel)

Stars:

Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Channing Tatum	...	Marcus Flavius Aquila
Jamie Bell	...	Esca
Donald Sutherland	...	Uncle Aquila
Mark Strong	...	Guern
Tahar Rahim	...	Seal Prince
Denis O'Hare	...	Lutorius
Dakin Matthews	...	Claudius Marcellus
Douglas Henshall	...	Cradoc
Paul Ritter	...	Galba
Pip Carter	...	Servius Placidus
Ned Dennehy	...	Seal Chief / The Horned One
István Göz	...	Cohort Centurion
Bence Gerö	...	Celt Boy / Young Marcus
Zsolt László	...	Paulus
Julian Lewis Jones	...	Cassius

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.

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Plot Keywords:

wall | soldier | slave | hadrian's wall | roman | 

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Taglines:

The destiny of a soldier. The honour of a slave. The fate of an empire.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for battle sequences and some disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Focus Features [United States] Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English Scottish Gaelic

Release Date:

11 February 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'aigle de la neuvième légion

Filming Locations:

Achiltibuie, Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£1,038,954 (UK) (25 March 2011)

Gross:

£2,770,774 (UK) (15 April 2011)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, Film4, Toledo Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The two lead actors in this film both had breakthrough roles playing dancers: Jamie Bell in Billy Elliot and Channing Tatum in Step Up.

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Goofs

The screams of a red-tailed hawk are used in place of eagle sounds. Red-tailed hawks do not live in Europe.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Marcus Aquila: Marcus Flavius Aquila, Fourth Cohort of Gaul, Second Legion, come to relieve the command.
Lutorius: Lutorius Drusillus Salinator, acting senior officer.
Marcus Aquila: Where's the garrison commander?
Lutorius: He left this morning, sir. Couldn't wait to get away.

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Connections

Featured in Great Movie Mistakes III: Not in 3D (2011)

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Soundtracks

"The Return of the Eagle"
Performed by Torc
Featuring The Neff Brothers and Atli Örvarsson

User Reviews

Interesting and entertaining

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The CGI effects seem to have been kept under control, and so the film turned out to be more human than animation. The combat scenes were done in the current style of quick cuts where you just get a vague idea of what is going on, rather than actually being able to follow the blows being struck.

The film seemed mostly faithful to Roman history. It gives a vivid illustration of why Hadrian's wall was built. But I am not totally sure the Roman Senate had a "branch" in Britain.

The two leads (Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell) were perfectly suited to their roles, kind of like Hercules and his sidekick from 60s historical adventure films. But minus the corny jokes. There were no banquets with production numbers. And there was no "love interest" written in. And no magical effects or mythical creatures. And it was very easy to follow. And hugely entertaining.

It's not art but it's rather good, regardless.