The Eagle Movie Trailer Review

The Eagle is directed by Kevin Macdonald whose past movies are the American adaption of the BBC original State of Play and The Last King of Scotland. Both movies I highly recommend. My real beef is not with this movies director but with tone and feel of the trailer itself. There are so many same shot references to other swords and sandals movies, in this trailer, that you might as well put on those; i.e. Gladiator, King Arthur, Centurion, etc. I mean the opening shot is of our main character sitting in a tented area praying to a clay figure. That is a scene right out of Gladiator! C'mon now! We've all seen this movie before and nothing is really setting it apart from the other movies. The bit of history explained in the beginning might peak my interest a bit, but that's not saying much either.

On top of the tone and un-originality, the casting of Channing Tatum is a bit of a double edged sword. The first movie I can remember seeing Mr. Tatum in was Step-Up; yes I saw it, get over it. Now he went on to do other work in some romantic movies and such like She's the Man and Dear John. However the movies that really made him stand out to me were A Guide to Recognizing Your Saint's and Stop-Loss. I think Tatum is a really good actor he brings a visceral and authentic rawness to his roles. Well at least the ones where he's got to be and its a treat to see, for me at least.

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saint's and Fighting, both directed by Dito Montiel, really show this energy. I can only imagine this is one of the reasons he was chosen for this role. But sadly, the authenticity of the film will lay on his shoulders and in the few scenes he does speak he sounds like he's really trying to have this roman accent but his "twang" or whatever keeps getting in the way. That in itself really just takes me out of the entire world the movie is trying to build. Hopefully the energy I like is enough to keep me interested but I doubt it.

Jamie Bell and Donald Sutherland round out the supporting cast and I think Jamie Bell is going really shine here. Bell has been seen in Billy Elliot, Jumper, and Defiance. Each of these movies are really good and entertaining and Bell has stepped up his game in each one. Be sure to look out for him in the future. He'll next been seen in Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of TinTin

Overall I'm thinking this movie will get some moderate attention when its released. My advice if you have seen all the movies nominated for a Best Picture already then go ahead and check this out. It might be some harmless fun or it could end up being the worst movie in the world, which will then convince you to go home, put on Gladiator, and reclaim your sanity.

As always the final review of the movie happens when the credits roll and the house lights are up.

The Eagle, does a spread, on February 11th, 2011

Dueces
StuntmanBob