The Eagle

"Eagle lost, honor lost. Honor lose, all lost."

To regain his family's honor... That is why Marcus Flavius Aquila requests to be transferred to Britain. Twenty years before his father had led his legion into the north of Britain carrying their precious standard, the golden Eagle of Ninth... But they never returned... "Eagle lost... all lost"... And so Marcus begins his career in Britain with high hopes of winning glory and honor and restoring his family's good name. But a wound received heroically defending his fort changes all that. He is given an honorable discharge and sent to live in the country with his uncle. But you can't keep an ambitions young Roman down for long. With the help of his slave, Esca, Marcus sets out to find the lost Eagle of the Ninth.

I do have to admit... Channing Tatum was one of the biggest draws for us for this movie... I know, it's silly, but it's true. He did a great job in the role... Rome looks pretty good on him... ;) Marcus Flavius Aquila is the perfect Roman... Good looking, brave, loyal, with a respect for human life that leads him to save the life of a slave forced to fight to the death with a gladiator in the ring for the sake of entertainment... and action that would change the  

                   course of his life... :)

Jamie Bell... the second biggest draw for us... ;) His character is the body slave Esca... Saved by Marcus, Esca swears an oath of honor to serve him... even though he is a native Britain and hates everything that Marcus stands for. Throughout the movie, Esca constantly challenges Marcus' belief that the natives of Britain are a cut below the Romans and will mercilessly slaughter anyone they have a mind to... That they were barbarians... Esca proves to Marcus that people of all nations can posses honor and display bravery.


I love the chemistry between the two characters. They go very well together... Like Sam and Frodo... They start out as master and slave... and end as friends... :)

There are some parts that are not so good about this movie, however. Some of the barbarians that they meet in search of the Eagle are just that... barbarians... There is one scene when the Seal people are performing a kind of "initiation" ceremony for their young warriors that merits skipping. And what few battle scenes there are, are quite graphic.

So in conclusion, I really like the movie... but I like the book better. Yes, it is based on a book. It was written by Rosemary Sutcliff in 1954. I highly recommend it, even if you don't like the movie. All of the negative things that are in the movie are not in the book. And there is a girl in the book... ;)

Marcus and his Uncle Aquila

Marcus and Esca riding out

Defending the Eagle against the Seal people