I will admit that I quite enjoyed this reversioning of Rosemary Sutcliff's book "The Eagle of the Ninth". Channing Tatum takes on the role of "Marcus Aquila" - son of one of the cohort commanders of the famous 9th legion that vanished in the highlands of modern-day Scotland sometime in the 2nd Century AD. Determined to restore the honour of his father, he and his slave "Esca" (Jamie Bell) set off to locate the Eagle - the golden symbol of the Roman people that was carried before the legion. This is quite a fast moving little adventure film with an interesting score from Atli Örvarsson to accompany their travails through hostile territory in search of their trophy. There is a chemistry between the two stars and some beautiful outdoor photography. Tahar Rahim is good as the grittily determined and ruthless prince of the Seal people and Ned Dennehy also stands out, albeit for only few scenes, as his slightly deranged father. Mark Strong also appears a few times too, sporting a completely unnecessary American accent! Passes the time enjoyably.
In 140 AD, twenty years after the unexplained disappearance of the entire Ninth Legion in the mountains of Scotland, young centurion Marcus Aquila arrives from Rome to solve the mystery and restore the reputation of his father, the commander of the Ninth. Accompanied only by his British slave Esca, Marcus sets out across Hadrian's Wall into the uncharted highlands of Caledonia - to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father's memory, and retrieve the lost legion's golden emblem, the Eagle of the Ninth.
Quick Stats
6.2
TMDB Rating
1,472
Votes
1h 54m
Runtime
$25.0M
Budget
$27.1M
Box Office
108%
Return
Key Crew
DirectorKevin Macdonald
WriterRosemary Sutcliff
CinematographyMasanobu Takayanagi
ComposerRobert Ireland
EditorRob Farris
Production DesignZsuzsa Kismarty-Lechner
Produced by
Prime FocusToledo ProductionsFocus FeaturesTwins FinancingFilm4 Productions
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Critics & Reviews
1 featuredCast
Channing Tatum
Marcus Aquila
Mark Strong
Guern
Jamie Bell
Esca
Donald Sutherland
Aquila
Denis O'Hare
Lotorius
Tahar Rahim
Seal Prince
Dakin Matthews
Claudius Marcellus
Douglas Henshall
Cradoc
Paul Ritter
Galba
Pip Carter
Servius Placidus
Ned Dennehy
Seal Chief / The Horned One
I
István Göz
Cohort Centurion
B
Bence Gerö
Celt Boy / Young Marcus
Zsolt László
Paulus
Julian Lewis Jones
Cassius
