To me, this movie is perfection.

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

This fabulous Roman Empire flick has all that it takes to tantalize. The historical detail is, of course, a complete fabrication. The movie's real power lies in its not-too-over-the-top story-telling. A Roman officer voluntarily posted to super-savage Britain sets out to rescue his father's honor by retrieving a lost legion's standard (i.e. The Eagle).Breathtaking cinematography combined with solid acting makes this movie a cut above the normal sword and sandal affair. Even the obligatory violence is remarkably restrained. All in all, this is sure to delight fans of the "historical" adventure genre.

This is a fine as well as exciting production with enough budget , great sets and thundering battles during the Roman Empire . Ultraviolent historical/epic/action yarn with breathtaking battles including lots of blood and gore . In Roman-ruled Britain, during Antoninus Pius empire , who was emperor of Rome at the time this film is set , AD 140 ; his reign is considered one of the calmest in Rome's history , there a young Roman soldier endeavors to honor his father's memory by finding his lost legion's golden emblem . The picture deals with the destiny of a soldier Marcus Flavius Aquila (Channing Tatum) , the honour of a slave , Esca , (Jamie Bell) and the fate of an empire ; concerning historical facts about confrontation between Romans and Northern barbarians . The Roman Empire stretches from Egypt , Britain to Spain , and East as far as the Black Sea . The Year is A.D. 140 , and it has been 20 years since Rome's legendary Ninth Legion marched north into Caledonia -modern Scotland- to gain control over all of Britain . But in northern Britain , the relentless onslaught of conquest has ground to a halt in face of the guerrilla tactics of an elusive enemy : the savage and terrifying Celts and Picts who were generally thought to not have worn any clothes . Aquila (it is the Latin word for "Eagle") is the son of the Legion's General , and determined to exonerate his father as well as to retrieve the Eagle banner . But his detachment is besieged and deadly attacked . After his legion is decimated in a devastating guerrilla attack , Marcus Flavius along with a slave crossing ¨the Hadrian Wall¨ and both of whom set out in pursuit a great dream : to seek to retrieve the ¨Eagle¨ . They fight for their lives behind enemy lines . As they attempt to destroy the Celt leader and face a desperate struggle to keep alive . Bloody version based on historical events about Roman conquests with overwhelming battles and great production values starred by Channing Tatum as the fictional Roman officer and Jamie Bell as slave , both of them are two battle-hardened warriors who try to defend themselves against a bunch of bloody barbarians led by a brutal enemy . Stunning battles scenes illuminate the full-blown feats with a plethora of engaging action set pieces on the combats in which the heads and limbs are slice off here and there . There are great action sequences including the gory battle in woods and the final confrontation at the climax of the film . Because of budgetary consideration , cast and crew had only one night to shoot the night battle scene , which gave it the disorganized, raggedy look they wanted . The movie has great action sequences well staged with stylish and vitality , thrills , and turns out to be pretty entertaining . Although is a little revisionist about characters , history and time when is developed the action in a dirty , gritty Roman Empire during its period in Britain . Several action scenes are outstanding with spectacular battle images and thrilling fights . Unfortunately, on small house screens much of the splendor will be lost . The film is well set with nice gowns , evocative weapons , appropriate attrezzo , adequate costumes ; however , production company decided to use stirrups, despite their being anachronistic, because there would have been issues getting insurance for the lead actors, especially as Jamie Bell had never ridden before and he had to learn on set. As the movie makes a big deal out of the supposedly deathly rivalry between Romans and Celts . German archaeologists have found evidence of the 9th Legion on the banks of the Rhine River and carbon-dated them long after these events took place, suggesting that rather than being wiped out , the reason that there is no evidence of the 9th Legion being in Scotland after these battles is that they moved to Germany . The working title for the film was "Ninth Legion" , the story goes that the Ninth Legion marched to Scotland from York with 3000 men and were never seen of again. Historians dispute what actually happened to them. Some believe that they were disbanded, while others believe that they were massacred . The picture results to be a crossover among : The 13th Warrior (1999) by John McTiernan , The Last Legion (2007) by Doug Lefler and Centurion (2010) by Neil Marshall . Support casting is frankly good , such as Donald Sutherland , Dakin Matthews , Tahar Rahim , Douglas Henshall , Denis O'Hare and Mark Strong . Impeccable and evocative cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle . Being shot on location in Lomond, Argyll and Bute, Summer Isles, Highland, Scotland, UK and Szentendre, Pest, Budapest, Hungary . Filmmaker and his director of photography Mantle spent long time discussing the look of the film before making it , one thing they were adamant about was that it should be shot on location and nowhere near a green screen . Magnificent and stirring musical score by Atli Örvarsson . The motion picture was compellingly directed by Kevin MacDonald (State of play , The Last King of Scotland , How I Live Now ,Touching the void). Kevin shot the film in such hard conditions that some cast members suffered health problems . Rating : Good , it's a nice historical extravaganza well set in ancient Rome , done in great scale and praised for its action sequences .

I wasn't expecting much from this movie, but there aren't many movies being made about the Romans, and I was in the mood. It didn't start out well, with poor direction, acting and dialogue, to the extent where it had the feel of a TV movie, but if you stick with it that soon gives way to a watchable flick.They obviously pent a lot on sets and the fight scenes, and the music was pretty good, but the last movie I saw was a great one, with top-notch everything – the kind that leaves you changed for the next day, with an invigorated feeling and lust for life until you gradually drift back to reality...so I was trying not to judge this one too unfairly. There is a good battle scene early on (the second one) that shows the tactical brilliance of the Romans and the animal fierceness of the Britons. Tatum did a fair job; I haven't seen him in anything else yet but I feel like he could do some decent acting in the hands of the right director.Without reading up on it, I felt that their imagining of the early tribes of northern Britain seemed credible/authentic/plausible enough; less suspension of reality was required here than in a lot of movies. As the slave pointed out, the original Romans had come to kill; the "savages" were only trying to defend themselves and their lands, and any sense on the part of the Romans of the need for revenge was groundless. But Aquila was only seeking to restore his family's honor, so you could still root for him somewhat even though he was basically on the side of evil.Interestingly, they had some Scottish flavor in some of the music, even in the scenes about the Romans.There was one point when they were fleeing in the river where you could see the water splash up on the camera lens, but there was some nice on-location scenery (if not the right location).I watched both the regular and unrated versions, and the only difference is a few frames of the most graphic violence. Couldn't be more than a second all together.When it was all over it seemed like only about an hour's worth of stuff just took place, and it was mainly just these two characters -- though with not enough time to really get to know them and their relationship, whereas in the same length movie that can usually be accomplished. Almost more like a buddy flick, or a road film.I think I'm being generous with a 6. I probably wouldn't recommend it if you're not into that kind of thing. But overall, no regrets.Denis O'Hare was good in The Proposal, but I wasn't wild about him in this. Jamie Bell didn't leave much of an impression either. So no standout performances, no standout anything – I want to give it 5 1/2 stars but I'll round it up for the battle scenes, sets and costumes.The alternate ending was stupid.

The Eagle (2011) offers an interesting presentation of an historical action movie. It will probably appeal to history buffs, especially those interested in movies with a strong emphasis upon Pictish/Celtic or ancient Roman themes.Although certainly too violent for children to watch, this film offers adult audiences almost non-stop action strongly rooted in powerful characterizations. Set during the period of the Roman occupation of the British Isles, it also provides beautifully photographed re-creations of Roman and Pitctish/Celtic culture during the ancient period.The story follows the career in Gaul of a brave young Roman officer whose father perished several years earlier during the massacre of a Roman Legion in Scotland. The well written script offers audiences an opportunity to develop empathy with both the occupying Romans, and the indigenous population. Just as the central characters grow and evolve over the course of the film, as a friendship develops between the Roman, Marcus Aquila and a British servant, in symbolic terms the movie could depict the amalgamation of Roman and Celtic values which contributed to the development of the British Isles.The impressive acting, directing and photography contribute to the overall entertaining quality of this movie. The film offers many beautiful natural outdoor settings as well, without losing any of the qualities of tension viewers appreciate in action films. Although The Eagle does contain many horribly violent scenes, these incidents stem directly from the plot.