- Title: The Eagle
- IMDB: link
20 years after the mysterious disappearance of the Ninth Legion in the wilds of Northern Britain the son (Channing Tatum) of the legion’s commander goes in search to restore his family’s honor by recovering the Legion’s standard – a golden eagle. Along for the ride is his slave Esca (Jamie Bell) who knows the terrain and people north of Hadrian’s Wall. The pair trade places as the slave becomes the master and tensions fray near the breaking point as they discover the final resting place of the Legion, the fate of Marcus’ father, and the whereabouts of the eagle.
Similar to Centurion (read that review), The Eagle far less ambitious and poorly handled. The film is saddled with some astonishingly bad dialogue, a wooden leading man, a mind-dulling final hour, and a poorly thought-out ending.
The DVD and Blu-ray include the theatrical cut as well as an unrated version of the film, an alternate ending, deleted scenes, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and commentary by director Kevin Macdonald.
The Eagle isn’t awful, but it is mostly forgettable. The action scenes are competent but unimaginative and its hard to ignore the film’s many flaws including a dreadfully long and plodding second-half that drags along forever as the pair spend time with the Sand People (who sadly don’t have Banthas) and try to make their way south back to the Wall.