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 .

Epic action film notable for its thoughtfulness in dealing with questions of 'conquered vs. conqueror'; really explores the theme of Romans vs. Britons. Also loved its positive yet honest portrayal of Rome as a society that brought much good (as well as bad, but this is usually overplayed) with its conquests... the world beyond Hadrian's Wall was not one you ventured into without good reason. ;) Gorgeous cinematography, sweeping shots, honors classic virtues of loyalty and perseverance, amazing score. A bit graphic, especially with violence towards children, but hey, it's B.C.! Channing Tatum does an excellent job portraying Marcus as a strong yet soulful man of high integrity, the best Rome could produce. Jamie Bell was better than usual...a bit open-mouthed, and not half as wild and 'hunterly' as the Esca I know and love in the book. Would have given it 10 if not for him.

Starts well - a new commander arrives at a military base on the Roman frontier, deals with a bit of insubordination by anticipating an attack, and proves himself in battle. His mission is to restore his family's honour by retrieving the eagle lost by his father in a military disaster.The lead is a bit weak, so he doesn't command respect, but I was looking forward to his quest for the eagle. I expected a picaresque story as the hero headed through Roman Britain, but the director just gave us a map with cod ancient place names and jumped forward to Hadrian's Wall - like entering Mordor-lite.There was an interesting twist, when master became slave, but the story didn't do much with it. Apart from that it was just fantasy, with wooden characters and a bit of gaelic from the Conan-type barbarians.This is history according to the American Marines - sword twirling interrupted every so often with toe-curling sentiments, and at the end a laughterless joke.Also no babes.Interesting idea, bad story. But it looked pretty good, so 3/10.

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.