THE EAGLE
2 out of 5 stars

ehh, this was original enough for a movie set during the roman empire, but not as good enough as gladiator or even spartacus, that starz TV series... this movie felt like it wasn’t cast right. i mean, you have channing tatum...WHY?!? then, mark strong in a really small role...WHY?!? then to top it all off, DONALD SUTHERLAND?!? :/

the eagle is based upon the book by rosemary sutcliff. and it’s about a commander named marcus flavius aquila (channing tatum), who takes a post in britain to defend roman territories against the “evil” and “savage” druids. he’s haunted by the memories of his father, and he helps save his men from a druid attack one quiet and unexpecting night. he sends out a patrol to see what’s the dealio with the grain delivery, and of course, the druids attack right away... he kills the chieftain of the druids, but he’s injured badly during the attack, resulting in a honorable discharge from the roman army. it isn’t enough that his family name is tainted by his father, whom we learn “lost” the golden eagle of the ninth legion during a vicious attack with the tribes beyond hadrian’s wall... so, marcus feels like he has no choice but to retrieve the golden eagle back from wherever it is with the help of his briton slave esca (jamie bell), who can speak gaelic and navigate this no man’s land. marcus’s uncle (donald sutherland) tells him that it’s a suicide mission, but marcus and esca go forth on their journey... will they find the eagle? what really happened to marcus’s father? if you want to know, put it on top of your netflix queue or redbox it. (but i can tell you- it’s no mystery and the story is quite straight-forward)

like i said, there’s really nothing special about this one, but it is quite original since most roman empire flicks concentrate on caesar or conquests in germania. this one is all about britain (good god, how many tribes were there back in the day?!), and it’s just alright... i think the casting had a big impact on the final product of this movie, plus the story is very linear. seriously, don’t expect any surprises with this one, and the pacing is kind of slow... plus, one thing that bothered me greatly was the american accent! why mark strong decided to speak in an american accent is BEYOND me... comeon, mark! i expect better from you, OF ALL PPL... :/