Several years after his father led the famous 9th legion into northern Briton and then all those legionaries disappeared, Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) has become a Roman officer hoping to restore his family's dishonoured name. However, after being wounded in battle, he can no longer serve as a Soldier. Now only one path remains open to him: to travel north of Hadrian's wall and search for the lost eagle standard of the 9th. With only his slave Esca (Jamie Bell) to help him, the two must work together to survive at the end of the known world, or risk being massacred by Roman hating locals.
Far from being a sequel to Centurion (2010) The Eagle tells its own story about the fate of the 9th and what proceeded from its disappearance. For those who don't know the legend of the 9th legion is fact: 5000 of the Roman Empire's best went north of what is now Hadrian's Wall to crush any remaining rebels, and then vanished never to be seen again. And, to me at least, that makes this Film all the more powerful. The aesthetics of the film alone are beautiful, whether it is the Scottish countryside or the simple style of the cinematography. And far from being another Roman war film, the story focuses more on the characters, brought to life by Tatum and Bell and their bromantic experience. Although when there is a battle scene, it is guaranteed to keep audience glued to the screen with action packed sword fighting and exhilarating levels of combat. Unfortunately the same can not be said of the cameo appearances from every other actor - sadly the sound of the film is riddled with thick American accents which only narrowly avoid spoiling the experience.
Having seen the film I now wish to read the book on which it was based. It does not matter if the film doesn't measure up, because in its own right The Eagle soars as a spectacular story.
