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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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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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

A decent, forthright, if finally uninspired sword'n'sandal drama, based on Rosemary Sutcliff's 1954 children's novel The Eagle of the Ninth.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 24, 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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Eva S

I was hoping that they had adjusted their accents somewhat. But no. Full fledged modern American accents twanging around through the story. Ruined it from the start. Alright i'll bite - what other accents shoyld theyve incorporated? Probably just some sort of neutral British accent or maybe just English with a continental lilt. ANYTHING but American in a story at the root of European, yes - EUROPEAN history. Please ban American accents from any European historical retelling in the future, please.. for the love of all things good..

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

07/06/25

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Frans B

I liked it. Many think Channing Tatum acts like a statue, but do you think the real Roman soldier was any different?, besides, it's a movie ... Script is good, directing also good and great cinematography. Amazing location shots. Whole cast convincing in character. Quite a journey, also learned a lot about the real events, although the vanishing of the 5000 soldiers really remain a mystery.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/21/25

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matthew C

I wanted to lilive it and did till thd kast 35 mins. Such garbage and cheese. Tantum' s acting fails. Nonsense. Oh dear. Avoid.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/11/25

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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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Kevin Macdonald

Director

Channing Tatum

Marcus Aquila

Jamie Bell

Esca

Donald Sutherland

Uncle Aquila

Mark Strong

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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, Focus Features, Film4, Duncan Kenworthy
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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