Angry Movie Lurker Review 37: The Eagle (3 STARS).

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.


The Eagle I believe is based on Rosemary Sutcliff's historical adventure novelThe Eagle of the Ninth (1954)


I like Roman movies especially set around the time of early imperial Rome (between 25BC and 193AD) as I used to game this period of Roman warfare, the action at the beginning is good between legionaries and British tribesmen as Marcus takes command of a garrison. Marcus is all brooding and a bit moody (not the best choice for this role), the action then crosses Hadrian's wall in pursuit of the lost eagle, the movie is then the relationship between Marcus and his slave Esca ( who he saved at a gladiator bout and was then presented to him by his uncle and played well by Bell) as they search for the eagle in the North but will Esca's secret, lost ninth legionaries and a slightly dodgy ending ruin the search?, no by this stage you will stay the course because you've watched it this far but it's worth the watch especially if you like a bit of a Roman action romp (it also has Mark Strong and Donald Sutherland doing their brief best aswell) but it's no Centurion or something you might rewatch.