The Eagle

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The Eagle

PG-13

Released Feb 11, 2011

1h 54m

Action

Adventure

History

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

39%

Tomatometer

158 Reviews

41%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Under the 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.

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Critics Consensus

The Eagle has a pleasantly traditional action-adventure appeal, but it's drowned out by Kevin Macdonald's stolid direction and Channing Tatum's uninspired work in the central role.

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Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Rated: C

Feb 18, 2012

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Philip French

Guardian

The Eagle appeals to my older self while retaining what made my childhood reading so stirring.

Mar 28, 2011

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Charlotte O'Sullivan

London Evening Standard

As culture clashes go, this one should be filed under rout.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 25, 2011

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Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

Macdonald’s film boasts impressive production value and an eye for historical detail, but the film suffers from a leading man who emotes less than a marble bust.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 31, 2023

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Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

It starts off as a poor man’s “Gladiator” which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But then it loses it’s identity and heads off into a different direction becoming a very mediocre action picture.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 20, 2022

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

The film manages to revive the incandescent prose of the book as much as possible. [Full review in Spanish]

Aug 9, 2022

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Jonathan C

This movie sucked.. it was so bad.. don’t waste your time unless you’re wanting a cringy bore fest.. Should’ve dropped all mature themes and made it a kids movie, even then they would probably think it sucked too.. if you like this movie I would advise keeping it to yourself as the movie really really isn’t any good.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/30/24

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Audience Member

I really enjoy this movie. I admire the director's work and the acting prowess of all the performers, but especially of Donald Sutherland, Channing Tatum, and Jaymie Bell. Their performances are outstanding, and the dialogue, cinematography, and plot are all spot on. It's enjoyable to watch an ancient Rome movie once more after occasionally watching The Gladiator, and Channing Totum deserves praise for his portrayal of the character. Based on their expectations, past performance, and ego, I wonder how in the world Rotten Tomatoes rated it as low as 39%. Come on, this is a movie, it's supposed to be entertaining.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/04/24

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GuestLord D

The beginning was good but the development and story didn't turn out to meet the start

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/21/23

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Jeffrey P B

Not sure what's wrong with people. A really enjoyable film with solid acting, and unique story line. Great adventure and look at the conquering nature of the Roman empire. Enjoyed it.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

07/16/23

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Ben M

This is a really bloody poor film. I love films about Rome, the medieval period, Scotland - it should be right up my street. But it's just really poorly written, the story and characters aren't engaging, some of the costuming is quite silly. Tatum is a really poor actor, like I didn't realise how bad he is til I saw this. Also, they must have had a tight budget, at one point they CGI a small funeral pyre and it's painfully obvious. Even if you're into this type of film, it's one to avoid.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/08/23

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Henry W

One of the worst movies I've ever paid for to sit through. I saw it when it came out, back in 2011. Good points: the costumes were pretty cool, except for all the cotton. It looked nice. And... well, that's it. Oh, and it was kind of funny, but only unintentionally so. Another customer at the showing (which was sparsely populated) summed up my opinion really well. As they roll the credits, he just said loud enough for everyone to hear, "Well...that SUCKED." Everyone in the theatre laughed, because we were all thinking the same thing...

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/14/23

Full Review

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Kevin Macdonald

Director

Channing Tatum

Marcus Aquila

Jamie Bell

Esca

Donald Sutherland

Uncle Aquila

Mark Strong

Guern

Tahar Rahim

Seal Prince

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Synopsis

Under the 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.

Director: Kevin Macdonald
Producer: Duncan Kenworthy
Screenwriter: Jeremy Brock
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Twins Financing, Duncan Kenworthy, Film4, Focus Features
Rating: PG-13 (Some Disturbing Images|Battle Sequences)
Genre: Action, Adventure, History, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 11, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 3, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $19.5M
Runtime: 1h 54m
Sound Mix: Dolby SRD, Dolby SR, DTS

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