The Eagle, a Mr. E Movie Review
The Eagle stars Channing Tatum as a Roman soldier in medieval England who has grown up never knowing his father after he disappeared during a campaign North of the protective wall.
During that mission Rome’s symbol of pride the treasured “Eagle” vanishes along with everyone under his command. Set on righting the wrongs and restoring his family name the son along with an English slave set out on the treacherous journey past the protective walls in search of the truth.
When judging this film on it’s entertainment factor you can’t help but grade it as passable. Not only is it visually on par the acting and storyline keep you involved and believing.
If I was to make a recommendation it would be to pick this one up on DVD if you enjoyed “The Gladiator” or “Braveheart” as I’m giving it a 4 out of 5 stars on my guy movie scale.
Top 5 “Channing Tatum” Films
In honor of this articles theme I’m bringing you the first of two “themed” lists to accompany my “The Eagle” review. First up is my picks for the Top 5 Channing Tatum movie roles to date:
5. FIGHTING,
A pretty good movie about a guy who has to literally “fight” his way up in the world. I’d rent this one before I bought it but I still recommend it for anyone out there looking for a Channing fix. (Check out my full review of this one on my main page.)
4. STEP UP,
Ok ladies and all you dance fans this ones got all the moves and the grooves while having a pretty good storyline.
3. GI JOE,
I don’t think there’s anyone 30+ who didn’t play with GI Joe’s and so to see this franchise come to life was awesome. Yeah, the critics blasted it for being all flash but this is an action movie for guys! It was perfect and left us ready for the sequel which is on the way. (Check out my full review of this one on my main page.)
2. SHES THE MAN,
Funny as heck. Buy this one. In this film Tatum is a soccer player who gets a roommate whose really a girl pretending to be a boy just to be able to play the sport. Amanda Bynes co-stars and this ones a winner.
Two Favorite Quotes:
Viola: [Viola’s mom shows her a dress] Echh. No. Sorry, Mom. I have a strict no-ruffles policy.
Daphne: Sometimes I just think you just might as well be your brother.
And…
Coach Dinklage: [shouted] Break it up. Break it up. Okay, tough guys. You want to box, then get out of my stadium. Or otherwise, get on with the game. All right? That goes for the rest of ya. Now get on and play some real football. Like a bunch of girls.
1. COACH CARTER,
Tatum costars as one of the players in this ensemble cast about the controversy that surrounds high school basketball coach Ken Carter after he benches his entire team for their breaking their academic contract with him.
This one has it all story, cast, heart, some serious character development, and of course basketball!
Finally, my second “themed” countdown is a quick DVD list rundown for you to pick up that coincide with “The Eagle’s” theme:
Top 5 “Medieval” Movies
5. Robin Hood 2010
4. The Lord of the Rings
3. Conan The Barbarian
2. Gladiator
1. Braveheart
For more articles and reviews check me out at:
http://www.examiner.com/movie-in-las-vegas/michael-esser
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Hey, I’m trying out a new “themed” format that I hope gives the articles more bang or value. So let me know what you guys think?
Its good, Michael. BTW, I think Centurian beat this movie’s ass in awesomeness. I’m sad it wasn’t listed in your top 5… and yet Robin Hood was?! (Brain Explodes)
I spaced Centurion we’ll give it an honorable mention here.
Oh, and I really liked the new Robin Hood better than any of the others I’ve seen except for maybe Men in Tights. Lol (It needs its sequel though.)
Yea Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood was brilliant, cruely overlooked by most people when it came out.
Yes it does, and Men in Tights was fabulous. I just didn’t like it because when I left I wasted over two hours that I could never get back in my life. It felt like nothing special, so I thought it wasn’t.
Don’t see how you can compare The eagle to a film like Braveheart. It’s an OK film at best and I only say that because of the soft spot I hold for anything roman.
Hey CoffeeFrapp, (Nice name by the way!)
I in no way intended to “compare” The Eagle to Braveheart. First off you’ll notice Braveheart is my #1 pick for the midieval genre in which The Eagle wasn’t even on the list! I was simply reviewing The Eagle, counting down its stars top roles, and my top picks for films in the genre.
You know, so that the reader can get a review on a film and then possibly discover (or rediscover) something else they might be interested in experiencing.
(I too love most things Roman. Some present TV shows excluded.)
I’ve got the Eagle DVD but haven’t watched it yet. My son said it’s not my kinda movie… even though I love anything ‘Chan’. Liked your Top 5 list (and like the idea of the two themed list – quite smart) but where’s “Dear John”? I think it showed a slightly more ‘softer’ side to the Chan and well, it was an awesome love story. I’m afraid that I’m not partial to anything Roman but liked this review because it had something in it for the likes of me, i.e. top 5 Channing movies. So thanks!
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is another incredible one that wasn’t on here.
Take out Shes The Man and Step Up, and replace them with A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints (great shout J.C.) and either Stop-Loss or Public Enemies. Just my opinion!
Stop-Loss role was great, and thanks, Daniel. That movie was just… phenomenal. That guy is a good writer, too, the man who directed and wrote it. It was based on his memoir of the same title, but he also wrote a book called “Eddie Krumble – THE CLAPPER.” Phenomenal stuff.
He is a good writer, i just had a look and his next film has Al Pacino and Ray Liotta in the cast! Channing is involved again as well. Could be interesting.
I haven’t heard about Stop-Loss or A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints but I just ordered them based on your recommendation JC and yours too Daniel and thanks for the heads up on the Pacino/Liotta flick what’s it called?
What I do know that’s filming right now is a Channing Tatum, Johnny Depp, Jonah Hill, and Ice Cube reboot of “21 Jump Street” and it’s set to release on March 16th, 2012.
Oh, and She’s the Man is funny! (and Amanda Bynes is fine.)
@ Daniel, I think Tatum is gonna be one of his “usuals.” To Michael, the 21 Jump Street movie is going to be a sad day for not just hollywood, but for America.
Amanda Bynes is indeed fine!
That film is called ‘The Son Of No One’ and was due for release this year, it appears that it has struggled to get proper distribution so i would expect to see this one make it’s debut straight-to-dvd some time next year.
Alright I have to say JC you cracked me up with the “sad day” comment. I knew you would have something funny to say. And Daniel oh no st8 to dvd! Come on! Nobody wants to invest in Pacino and Liotta? Now, that’s a sad day JC…
Its sad, because at one time, Pacino and Liotta were on top of the world. They’re still good actors, but they pick some shit movies sometimes. Hopefully this new Montiel film doesn’t turn out to be one. And Michael, you know I’m always looking to evoke the laughs.