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The Eagle

The Eagle

2011
Drama, Adventure
1h 54m
Haunted by the disappearance of his father, who vanished with the Roman Ninth Legion on an expedition into the north of Britain, centurion Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) sets out to unravel the mystery and recover the legion's eagle standard. But in the wilds of Caledonia, the soldier and his British slave (Jamie Bell) encounter fierce native tribes and other dangers. Kevin Macdonald directs this adaptation of Rosemary Sutcliff's novel.
Your probable score
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The Eagle

2011
Drama, Adventure
1h 54m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 32.94% from 665 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(665)
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Rated 11 Jun 2011
61
18th
Meh. While I appreciate the effort put into displaying the beautiful, savage Roman-era Britain and the order and the discipline of the Roman army (I actually felt some shivers when the Romans formed the Testudo), the battles are messy and unauthentic, the main characters shallow and the story full of holes. Too bad, as the scenery, props and equipment was top knotch.
Rated 28 Mar 2011
60
52nd
A swords and sandals buddy-road-movie with buffed up Tatum and Bell on one side vs. the painted evil warriors, who has taken the eagle and left Rome somewhat impotent, on the other... What works is the great rural scenery of northern britain, but the story is simple and full of indifferent moments and bad lines. Never the less it's quite entertaining and I'm a sucker for epic movies, so all in all it's a very little recommendation for team Tatum and Bell!
Rated 12 Feb 2011
90
93rd
I apparently liked this more than most. It's more than just a story, it's a fascinating original epic adventure, exquisitely filmed (except for a couple of battle sequences) in Scotland. The drama of the centurion and slave being held together by honor plays well throughout the story. Definitely a guy flick (there's no women with speaking parts). Channing Tatum has been criticized for his flat performance; I think that's an unfair overstatement since he fit the role for which he was cast.
Rated 16 Apr 2011
30
10th
Not very entertaining. Predictable and, even worse, bland. Even if you're into Roman flicks, you probably will want to head for the exit right after the setup. It's just b.s. and ridiculous forest men from there on in.
Rated 21 Mar 2012
57
41st
This is both a good and bad film. Obviously channing tatum is average but the whole history behind this film is wrong. I live 2 miles from Hadrians wall so roman history is something I am very familiar with. Firstly, when they go through Hadrians wall, at no point is there scenery like that and secondly, Gaelic did not exist when this film is based upon, it was pictish. Aside from historical points of view, jamie bell is very good in this film and the story is okay, not amazing, not bad!
Rated 15 Nov 2011
39
13th
Roman ex-centurion vows to restore his family's honour, lost when his father led the ninth legion north of Hadrian's Wall 20 years earlier and never came back. So he goes north along with his celtic slave to find the legion's golden eagle among the inhuman Scots and prove himself one of the few honourable Men in the increasingly sissyfied Rome. Anyone wanting to read it as a slightly rah-rah libertarian metaphor for how some people see the US's past and present will not be told to shut up.
Rated 16 Feb 2011
50
23rd
The cinematogaphy and Bell are top notch, but the cheesy dialogue and truly horrible performance by Channing Tatum (how on earth does he keep getting work?) drag it down to the point of boredom.
Rated 17 Sep 2012
60
30th
All the pieces are here for a great movie. The cinematic vistas are stunning. The cast isn't too bad. The story of a lost imperial roman standard is an interesting mystery. It's all wasted on out of place contemporary dialogue and British mohawk tribesman or some shit. The writers needed to watch the series Rome. The mass battle scenes looked poorly choreographed. Tatum is a goofball of a Roman commander who is led by the hand half of the film by his more competent (and well acted) slave.
Rated 23 May 2011
1
11th
'Not sure if serious' about this one. If it is 'serious', then it's severe insult to my intellect(or anyone's else with common sense), since so stupid tactics on both sides I haven't seen in my life. When 4 times more Brits than Romans were 'being pushed' looked like they just walking backwards. And when they surrounded them, they just leaned on Roman shields. And then retreated. If is not 'serious', why can't M.Aquila just kill everybody, since he's best image of 'honorable Roman soldier'?
Rated 04 Dec 2011
30
12th
I always get this film confused with The Centurion from last year. Centurion was significantly better. I'm not a nitpicky guy with period films, but it was damned distracting here. The horses were saddled in a modern way. The career Roman soldier took what looked to be a Gaulic longsword north of the wall with him. I'll stop, but there's more. The movie didn't even feel period specific at all. Switch the swords to guns and you have a boring Vietnam war film. Just some dudes playing dress up.
Rated 16 Feb 2015
65
22nd
A decent enough adventure flick, and very prettily filmed. I still think "Channing Tatum" should, by all rights, be the name of a 12-year-old girl.
Rated 08 Feb 2012
70
48th
What's with all the bad ratings? I didn't think this movie was terrible. It was certainly better than Brave Heart, where the Mayans crucified Jesus during the Revolutionary War.
Rated 22 Jun 2011
48
52nd
Not as bad as I expected, after reading all the terrible reviews, but far too contrived to take it seriously. "The Romans killed Britain's men and raped their women...but one has honor, so all's good. Oh and look, the evil blue boogy man killed that kid, so all Britons must be savages!"
Rated 14 Feb 2011
23
86th
The Eagle is sort of King Arthur with a touch of Gladiator and Lord of the Rings. The scenes and scenery were rich with solid cinematography, great sets, and costumes. The film had a strong sense of historical responsibility right down to the depiction of combat. It suffered from a mid-film slump and was a little drawn out, but still a very strong film. Not King Arthur or Gladiator, but definitely recommendable.
Rated 27 Feb 2011
7
84th
I enjoyed it more than I expected from the reviews I read. Still not a huge fan of Channing Tatum, but I enjoyed the way the relationship between his and Jamie Bell's characters evolved and found the cinematography appealing. Also, Mark Strong keeps showing up in stuff I had no idea he was in; first The Way Back and now this. Mark Strong just don't stop workin'!
Rated 21 Feb 2011
69
14th
"Tron 2" was a sword and sandals picture in disguise, and "The Eagle" is a buddy cop movie in disguise.
Rated 23 Apr 2012
75
52nd
a workable action movie in an underused setting, it's fairly disposable, but lives up to expectations. i'm a fan of jamie bell and regrettably channing tatum, but they didn't have too much to work with here.
Rated 21 Jul 2014
34
28th
A fairly ordinary action film that gets extra points for its unusual setting. The scenes around Silchester seem especially to capture what it might have been like to be in a backwater of Roman culture.
Rated 07 May 2017
77
51st
okay, it's not a wonderful movie. but it's a movie that will satisfy hi-fi and fantasy fans. it's adventurous. I like it.
Rated 06 Jan 2012
60
26th
Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be especially considering it stars Channing von Wahlberg Tatum. It is a little slow at times so those wishing for nonstop mindless action will be sorely disappointed.
Rated 08 Jun 2016
60
31st
It's OK. I always baulk slightly at things where everyone's carping on about honour all the time when talking about the murder, rape and pillage of indiginous people, revenge, and revenge for the revenge. But as a standard questy-adventury type thing it's fine. Channing Tatum was fine, Jamie Bell was fine... it was fine.
Rated 15 Feb 2011
70
42nd
I have a few gripes. The ending of the movie didn't give me what I was looking for (which is more my fault than the movie's fault, I accept that); I felt that everything about the ending fell together a little too easily. I also didn't like Donald Sutherland as a Roman. I love Donald Sutherland, but, he was a Roman speaking with a Boston accent. Kinda killed the aesthetic to me. AND, I wish Hollywood would stop filming these large-scale battle scenes so up-close. BUT, it was a solid movie.
Rated 03 Apr 2011
70
52nd
I enjoyed this a lot. Channing Tatum does a decent job. Jamie Bell does a better one (natch). Proper boys own adventure. One personal wish is to see a barbarian horde taken on in a proper Roman style, shield wall steady, short swords in motion. But that's just me.
Rated 18 Jan 2012
74
35th
I was hoping for something along the lines of last year's little-seen sword picture "Centurion" starring Michael Fassbender & Dominic West. That movie was decent enough. This movie couldn't even reach decent. It is pretty boring and the plot never engages. I'm not a huge Channing Tatum fan, but nothing abut his performance irritated me. It was just boring enough to fit in with the rest of the film.
Rated 22 Jul 2011
20
23rd
Nothing about this film makes sense, what are they Buddy Cops? Also what the hell was with the ending? Kept expecting them to slap high fives and rush to board their F-16's, then fly into the sunset with Marcus talking about how his newly freed slave buddy is always going to be his F***ing Wingman.
Rated 16 Apr 2012
35
4th
I watched this but I could not tell you at all what the heck was going on. Jamie Bell was the best thing in it and why on earth are all the Romans American? Rubbish.
Rated 15 Dec 2012
39
57th
Very slow, but not bad. It really seemed like they tried to remake Gladiator, throw in some Arthur, and make it all cheaper: thus the slowness.
Rated 19 Feb 2014
45
33rd
Not anywhere near as awful as expected, but it's still rather bland and uninspired. The script is horrible, but it does have its moments and low expectations often do wonders for a film.
Rated 21 Apr 2011
49
11th
Razaca wrecz oszczednosc na obsadzie glownych rol. Kto to w ogole jest Channing Tatum? Jego gra (tfu - usilowanie gry) wprowadzala mnie w stan ogromnej zgryzoty. Dobry pomysl, dobre zdjecia, nie ta obsada....
Rated 16 Apr 2011
33
20th
Pro: the beautiful Scottish and Hungarian landscapes. Con: virtually everything else. Bad story, uninspired acting... points for the nice fortress. All in all: bad, but not horrible.
Rated 12 Feb 2011
70
41st
You know, going against what I expected when going in, I thoroughly enjoyed this. I thought it had a great visual sense, and even Mumbles Tatum did a good job. Some parts were by the book but that's not a bad thing if done well, and for the most part it is. I was interested the whole way through. Some of the action scenes were inspired but sometimes I wish these movies wouldn't film everything so zoomed in... zoom out once in a while and let the action breathe.
Rated 31 May 2012
70
55th
I was expecting a brainless actioner like Centurion, but I got something more akin to Valhalla Rising. Well, without the artyness and with more lame dialogue, but still; the cinematography is pretty sweet and I was constantly engaged. Tatum was watchable. Normally I hate this kind of beefcake actor (read: someone handsomer than me (read: most male humanoids)) but I guess everything around him lessened the annoyance factor.
Rated 12 Apr 2011
70
29th
Seems sort of drab when compared with last year's Centurion, but it's nice to see Tatum trying.
Rated 12 May 2013
66
22nd
I believe, he quoted Terminator once.
Rated 26 Feb 2012
40
31st
I had a decent time for 40 minutes and a terrible time for the other 80. Even when The Eagle works, it still only does so marginally. Most of the time, though, it's such a snoozefest that it's difficult to recommend to anyone. Channing Tatum can't carry this film, the supporting actors are underutilized, the action scenes are boring and often incomprehensible, and the plot takes far too long to get going. This just isn't a good film.
Rated 03 Nov 2013
2
46th
Tatum and Blair go to recover their peoples confidence after Tatums dad riled up the 'savages' - "Libertas operatione perennem''. Based on a kid's book, a bit Heart of Darkness. The action is iffy though, a surprisingly dreary drama and (barely) homoerotic subtext (he said hold him down, not gaze lovingly into his eyes) are all that's left. Beer-free I'd have bailed halfway.
Rated 09 Feb 2011
30
78th
"A proudly old-fashioned adventure about brotherhood that happens to speak to our current moment of moral uncertainty without ever drawing specious analogies between the political reality of its characters' lives and ours." - Ed Gonzalez
Rated 02 Jun 2013
60
47th
I wanted to like it a lot more, but I thought it was a bit too slow and a bit too meh.
Rated 22 May 2016
40
9th
A rather lame adaptation of a literary classic that only deserves a review in order to draw attention to the book on which it is loosely based - Rosemary Sutcliffe's 'Eagle of the Ninth'. There was a TV adaptation in the 1970s that was better than this, despite the limitations of the time. EF 20, IF 20.
Rated 21 Feb 2011
76
54th
A really pleasant surprise.
Rated 02 Feb 2011
5
0th
Evoking the forgotten meanings of action-adventure films (pre-Tarantino) is enough to make The Eagle a distinctive, if minor, film.
Rated 20 Feb 2011
70
30th
I enjoyed this movie a lot more than I thought I would. Channing Tatum is as bad as you would think yet this does not ruin the film. I enjoyed the action sequences and this film has some great visuals. Check it out if you enjoy watching a Roman Legion fight off a barbarian horde.
Rated 14 Apr 2011
60
13th
I love the setting and the acting wasnt all that bad either plus there was a lot of fighting which is always good. But the story was very dull and nothing really happened.. just the things you were expecting: Collect the eagle equals victory... Zzzzz..
Rated 18 Apr 2011
80
92nd
Whats up with the poor ratings? This was a great movie! best in a long time!
Rated 17 May 2015
40
19th
Passes the time.
Rated 06 Mar 2012
49
32nd
Average film and a main character is lame. He don't fit to this kind of film. It's like send cripple to a marathon and carry him all the way.
Rated 10 Sep 2011
55
22nd
I liked the beginning very much, but then it all falls apart.
Rated 27 Feb 2013
6
46th
The Eagle appeals to a select number of viewers. People who are obsessively interested, or desire to be so, in European history will enjoy some beautiful camerawork set against significant landscapes of the Scottish Highlands as well as a variety of Saxon tribes. I really like stuff like that, and it worked incredibly well. Nevertheless, The Eagle is also a cheap film and a cheesy film. The dialogue is stilted, Tatum is a sore thumb, and why are the bad white guys essentially black?
Rated 18 Feb 2011
100
51st
good movie good cast good plot 10 out of 10
Rated 25 Dec 2013
41
7th
A film that aims for authenticity and falls some way short. Why get the 'savages' to speak Scottish Gaelic, a language not even in existence at the time? Also why use actors who speak Irish - this is like getting a Portuguese to speak Spanish. Why do they look like Native Americans? And, if you go to those lengths for the tribesmen, why are the Romans speaking American English and not Latin? Average film ruined by a wooden lead performance from Tatum and perplexing language & casting ch
Rated 20 Aug 2015
81
24th
command of Flavius Aquila in A.D. 120, Rome's Ninth Legion marches north carrying its revered eagle emblem and vanishing into the mists. Rumors of the legion's golden eagle appearing in a tribal temple reach Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum), Flavius' son, 20 years later. Accompanied by his slave (Jamie Bell), Marcus makes a dangerous journey to Scotland to retrieve the hallowed eagle and, in doing so, to restore his father's tarnished honor.
Rated 28 Apr 2021
20
10th
Boring bunch of British crap.
Rated 09 Oct 2022
55
28th
Good but a bit of a silly ending

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