The Eagle
“Tommy, do you like movies about gladiators?”
Don’t worry, it’s not the usual swords-and-sandals affair like “Ben Hur” and “Gladiator,” although the latter (and “Braveheart” and “Apocalypto”) was no doubt influential to Kevin Macdonald when he was directing “The Eagle.” The film is based on the novel, The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff, and tells the story of a Roman centurion, who will begin a seemingly impossible task of restoring his family’s legacy in the Roman Army in the Second Century A.D. The result is an entertaining action-drama the likes of which we rarely see anymore. Macdonald (following a series of acclaimed documentaries, the Oscar-winning “The Last King of Scotland” and “State of Play”) tells the story with minimal visual trickery, and the film is better for it.
Before you complain about the casting of Channing Tatum as Marcus Aquila, whose father was a member of the Ninth Roman Legion that vanished in the Northern Highlands of England and has now been stationed at an outpost in Roman-ruled Britain himself, keep this in mind: an actor is only as good as his material. Yes, Tatum is little more than a pretty face, but there is potential in him as a performer, as was evident in his work in “Dear John” and “Stop-Loss.” With Macdonald as director and a lean, concise script by Jeremy Brock (who scripted “Last King of Scotland”), Tatum makes Marcus (haunted by visions of what his father’s last moments may have been) a compelling presence as Marcus becomes determined (after his honorable discharge from the Roman Army for bravery in saving his soldiers from a hoard of barbarians) to learn the truth about what happened with the Ninth and what became of the golden Eagle the legion carried with it. Against the advice of his uncle (Donald Sutherland), Marcus and his slave, Esca (Jamie Bell, superb in an interesting role), travel past the protection of Rome to the dangerous Northern lands to search out the Eagle.
Macdonald and Brock tell the story with an economy of style and just enough substance to keep you interested, focusing in on the bond that forms between Marcus and Esca from the moment Marcus leads a crowd to spare his life to the weeks they travel in Northern England, where the native Scots (from whose ranks Esca hails) are brutal in their treatment of the Roman intruders. It is a beautifully, brutally filmed saga (Anthony Dod Mantle’s cinematography becoming an early favorite of mine for next year’s Oscars), and Macdonald has a sure hand with action sequences that may not rival the grandeur of “Gladiator” or “Braveheart” but still pins the audience to their seats. Along with a score by Atli Orvarsson that may not be original but undoubtedly drives the film, the visual and storytelling thrills Macdonald has in store may not reach the lofty heights of his earlier work, but gives the audience a good yarn in which to lose themselves for a couple of hours.
