Armando Montano
The Paw Print
For fans of historical adventure, The Eagle is exactly what they are looking for. Set in the second century AD, The Eagle tells of a young Roman legionnaire who, with the company of a British slave, searches to discover the truth behind the disappearance of his father’s legion in the north of Britain.
In 140 AD, the Roman centurion Marcus Aquila tries to uncover the truth behind the disappearance of his father’s Ninth legion in the north of Britain twenty years prior. Marcus Aquila decides to venture into the north and takes with him on his travels the British slave, Esca. Their journey will take them both beyond the Hadrian’s wall into the Caledonia region, where Marcus Aquila must confront the Pictish tribes to recover the legion’s standard, an ornamental figure in the shape of an Eagle. With the recovery and return of this eagle, Marcus Aquila hopes to expose the mystery of the legion’s disappearance and restore his father’s reputation. As their journey into the north encounters less familiar ground, the two are soon found by the Seal People, the most vicious of the northern British tribes. To save the two, Esca claims that Marcus Aquila is his slave and also claims a common union with the Seal People in order to get his freedom from Marcus. While this creates a rift between the now-enslaved Marcus Aquila and Esca, Esca eventually reveals that his switch was a ploy to infiltrate the tribe to give the two more time and opportunity to locate and reclaim the Eagle from the Seal People who have control over it. As the two come to understand the fate of the Ninth, they then must focus on escaping from the Seal People and returning to the Roman stronghold on the other side of the Hadrian’s wall. Will the two uncover the location of the Eagle and be able to return it to Rome? Will the truth of the Ninth be uncovered and escape for Marcus Aquila and Esca from the Seal People be possible?
The Eagle is a well-structured film about the fleeting control of the Romans in the Northern region of the world. While the previews for the film only highlighted some of the more intense scenes from the film, The Eagle was filled with much more in content than one would suspect. There is an air of suspense related to the film’s central theme, the disappearance of the Ninth legion and the whereabouts of the legion’s Eagle standard. The film also makes use of Esca’s dubious past to give a shady suspicion of his future role on the other side of the wall. At certain points, the film doesn’t have the most original plot points and certain elements do seem obvious, meaning certain viewers will see this as a slow film or rather dry. Others might lose interest if the viewer isn’t paying attention through the beginning into the film’s core. However, there is action and intensity at the end of the film which gives the audience a good feel for the historical period. Many of the locations and dress do look authentic and does draw viewers into the moment. For viewers who are interested in period pieces or are willing to get caught up in the film that will leads to a more realistic action, this is for you.
The Eagle runs 114 minutes long and is rated PG-13 for battle sequences and some disturbing images.
What’s Been Said…