Filed under: Reviews, Cinematical
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In Kevin MacDonald’s sword-and-sandal drama, ‘The Eagle,’](The Eagle (2011) - Movie | Moviefone) Channing Tatum (as centurion Marcus Aquila) trudges through the mud from the edges of the Roman Empire into the land that will one day be Great Britain. It’s a grueling journey, and while the film isn’t quite as difficult to finish as Marcus’s quest to retrieve his father’s 9th Legion golden eagle standard, it’s not a cakewalk either.
There’s not a sharp clarity of purpose in ‘The Eagle.’ For a bit, ‘The Eagle’ looks like a rousing B-movie, one with Tatum miscast, but game, in a role that might stretch his resume beyond that of a dancing G.I. Joe. He speaks with the same affected, mushy accent that Hollywood actors use in period pieces when they can’t do British (think Brad Pitt in ‘Troy’](Troy (2004) - Movie | Moviefone)), but the man is doing his damnedest to be a convincing period hero here. He’s working to the best of his own abilities in a movie that consistently lets him (and the audience) down.