Hey, everybody. We went to see a movie today titled The Eagle. It stars Channing Tatum as Marcus Aquila and Jamie Bell as Esca, the slave. It is a hefty 114 minutes long and is rated PG 13. In my opinion, 20 minutes or so could have been cut out of the front end of it with no huge damage to the show, but the length did not detract from the picture significantly, either. Here's the recipe.
It's ancient Rome with the attendant swords, armor, legionaires and centurions. These folks conquered the world and they did not do it by being nice guys. They did not do it without making enemies either. However, when the Roman 9th Legion chose to go into the northern section of Britain they ran into a problem. They disappeared without a trace, all 5000 were presumed dead and their leader's name was synonymous with failure and disgrace. A wall, Hadrian's Wall, was built to separate the Roman occupied southern half of Britain from the barbaric northern half.
Our hero, Marcus Aquila, is the son of the disgraced Commander of the 9th, who is presumed dead along with the 5000 men in his command. Marcus badly wants to find out what happened to his father's Legion and restore the family's honor. More important, perhaps, is The Eagle. This is the golden standard, the replica of an eagle that is carried by the Legion in battle. To accomplish his lofty goals, Marcus must go 'north of the wall', among the savage tribes that abide there. With only his slave for help, Marcus Aquila sets forth on his quest for father, honor and The Eagle.
As usual, I will avoid telling you enough to ruin the plot for you. This movie is pretty good. I would rate it as a little better than a mediocre 2.5 stars out of 4, and a little less than a 3 stars out of 4. So, let's call it 2.75 stars out of 4. It's worth seeing and you won't walk out feeling cheated. Then again, if you go in thinking it's Russell Crowe in Gladiator, well, it ain't, baby.
A couple of odd notes in this show. For one thing, there is zero romance and only a brief appearance of any women in this movie. This is very odd for any show, even an action flick. I asked my wife to give me a thumb's up or thumbs down, in Roman fashion, for the woman's point of view. She gave me the thumbs down. A tip here for the movie makers, rat eating is not the way to the hearts of female fans. Nuff said.
In a rare, karma type of thing, I actually saw an eagle at the river the other day. There was a large tree that had fallen in the water and the eagle was sitting on a limb. He was peering down into the water as though watching a fish. I don't know, perhaps there was a tire below him and if I had looked more closely I may have seen a tear fall from his eye as he wept for the habitat that was. Sorry, lost my head and got serious for a moment.
The movie is a guy movie. If you're taking your lady out for a Valentine's Day date, go to a romantic comedy. Take it from me as I write this from the dog house, here at the author's green retreat. I'm CE Wills.
It's ancient Rome with the attendant swords, armor, legionaires and centurions. These folks conquered the world and they did not do it by being nice guys. They did not do it without making enemies either. However, when the Roman 9th Legion chose to go into the northern section of Britain they ran into a problem. They disappeared without a trace, all 5000 were presumed dead and their leader's name was synonymous with failure and disgrace. A wall, Hadrian's Wall, was built to separate the Roman occupied southern half of Britain from the barbaric northern half.
Our hero, Marcus Aquila, is the son of the disgraced Commander of the 9th, who is presumed dead along with the 5000 men in his command. Marcus badly wants to find out what happened to his father's Legion and restore the family's honor. More important, perhaps, is The Eagle. This is the golden standard, the replica of an eagle that is carried by the Legion in battle. To accomplish his lofty goals, Marcus must go 'north of the wall', among the savage tribes that abide there. With only his slave for help, Marcus Aquila sets forth on his quest for father, honor and The Eagle.
As usual, I will avoid telling you enough to ruin the plot for you. This movie is pretty good. I would rate it as a little better than a mediocre 2.5 stars out of 4, and a little less than a 3 stars out of 4. So, let's call it 2.75 stars out of 4. It's worth seeing and you won't walk out feeling cheated. Then again, if you go in thinking it's Russell Crowe in Gladiator, well, it ain't, baby.
A couple of odd notes in this show. For one thing, there is zero romance and only a brief appearance of any women in this movie. This is very odd for any show, even an action flick. I asked my wife to give me a thumb's up or thumbs down, in Roman fashion, for the woman's point of view. She gave me the thumbs down. A tip here for the movie makers, rat eating is not the way to the hearts of female fans. Nuff said.
In a rare, karma type of thing, I actually saw an eagle at the river the other day. There was a large tree that had fallen in the water and the eagle was sitting on a limb. He was peering down into the water as though watching a fish. I don't know, perhaps there was a tire below him and if I had looked more closely I may have seen a tear fall from his eye as he wept for the habitat that was. Sorry, lost my head and got serious for a moment.
The movie is a guy movie. If you're taking your lady out for a Valentine's Day date, go to a romantic comedy. Take it from me as I write this from the dog house, here at the author's green retreat. I'm CE Wills.
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