Channing Tatum in THE EAGLE (2011)
Does anyone like this movie? Production wise, it's nice to look at but the story is sorta anemic. I applaud Channing for trying to do something different but he wasn't suited for this. Like so many movies made these days the rewriting of history to fit our current politically correct times is needlessly distracting. Since Channing's career is not as hot as it used to be when he made this, oddly enough, as uneven as it is, this is one of his better movies.
6 comments:
For those of a more literary disposition, the children's novel on which the film is based was written by Rosemary Sutcliffe as 'The Eagle of the Ninth' and published in 1954.
Graham Sumner wrote:
The I977 BBC series 'The Eagle of the Ninth' based on the original book is now available on DVD.
The film version cuts out most of what is in the book and is very uneven as a result. The first half is much better than the second which seems to merge into the Last of the Mohicans territory. Sadly the warriors lack the required menace in both methods and physical appearence.
It is mentioned twice in the movie that no Roman can survive North of Hadrian's Wall, which is why in the series and the book Marcus is disguised as a Greek occulist medicine man.
The production values are good with some correct historical details including a good looking fortlet and some pieces of military equipment. The TV series while good on character is very obviously of its time but well worth watching.
The Roman tactics in 'The Eagle' are a bit weird however. A testudo was not used to break up an enemy formation and using fire in a timber fort is perhaps not the best of ideas. Fire though in a Roman battle is a standard movie trope.
According to movie folklore, the title was changed so American audiences would not expect a movie on golf!
Thanks Graham!
Off topic. Germany's Koch Media has announced a Blu-ray release of Duel of the Titans in January 2021
with an English language option. Something to look forward to for sure as Koch always does a good job.
Already posted about the DUEL OF THE TITANS Blu-ray at By The Gods! blog. From the provided screengrabs it looks great.
Did ancient Romans historically wear those trousers that reached below the knee or is it prudence in current day films about ancient Greece/Rome?
Post a Comment