The Eagle - Movie Review

Last night we went down to West India Quay to check out the new film from director Kevin Macdonald (who you may have come across as the name behind 'The Last King of Scotland' and future-noir TV series 'State Of Play'), 'The Eagle'.

The film recounts the fictional tale of the loss of the Roman Ninth Legion in Scotland in the Second Century AD, and the subsequent efforts by the general's son, Marcus Aquila (played by Channing Tatum in arguably his first big blockbuster since an early appearance in 'Public Enemies') and his slave, Esca (Jamie Bell, star of 'Billy Elliot') as they head out across the country and past Hadrian's Wall in order to retrieve the eagle standard of his father's legion, in an effort to redeem the family's honour.
The movie makes a very valiant effort to be authentic, so there's lots of sweat, grime, strenuous sword-fighting and blood letting, all of this accompanied by some absolutely beautiful cinematography that puts Scotland in its best possible light and, to my eyes at least, some very meticulous costumes and sets. The acting is more than passable, although Tatum's performance isn't exactly charged with emotion - fortunately Bell makes up for this with his portrayal of the begrudgingly loyal native Briton. There are also rather good camoes for Donald Sutherland and Denis O'Hare, who on this occasion plays one of the good guys rather than the evil, manipulative vampire that we know so well from 'True Blood'.

Definitely a must-see for the history fans (even if the tale stretches the truth about the fate of the Ninth Legion itself) and, for the rest of us, something worth squeezing in before the schedule gets crowded with the early summer blockbusters.