The Eagle

It's swords, sandals, Channing Tatum, his abs of steel and the attempt at a Roman warrior accent. Let the mocking begin!

Tatum stars as Marcus Aquila - a Roman commander in 140 AD who is trying to restore his family's honor. His father led a legendary group of soldiers into battle in Scotland, only to disappear and lose an honored golden eagle statue as well. Now, Marcus wants to go back to the scene of the battle to retrieve the eagle, only joined by a British slave he saves from certain death, Esca (Jamie Bell).

Can Marcus trust Esca?

Will he find the eagle?

When I was getting ready to see the movie, I was giddy with anticipation. Tatum trying to use a Roman accent promised to be so dreadful I would have oodles of material to mock him with. Instead, darn it, Tatum holds his own. I can find many faults with The Eagle, but he is not one of them.

Tatum is a compelling leading man with little material to help him. While other actors are walking around like they come straight out of Brooklyn (I guess Romans are technically Italian, so it works?), The Abs of Steel becomes a traditional Roman and fills the character with great bravery, honor and guts that isn't always on the pages of the script. He obviously is trying harder than every person on screen. Between this performance and his turn in The Dilemma, am I becoming Channing Tatum fan?

Sadly, writer Jeremy Brock and director Kevin Macdonald need to do a better job explaining what the eagle is, because, without a good idea of what Tatum is chasing, the audience doesn't feel the drama and emotion needed to get us involved in the film, especially since it takes so long to get into the heart of the story.

Any scene without violence becomes boring as Brock and Macdonald seem to be killing time instead of driving the story forward. The relationship between Esca and Marcus has some moments, but it shouldn't become some modern buddy movie, which happens in a scene that felt completely out of place and time.

The Eagle isn't embarrassing, but could have used more work in development.

The Eagle is rated PG-13 for battle sequences and some disturbing images.