6/10
Part bromance, part western, part political parallel, this film is based on Rosemary Sutcliff's 1954 book, Eagle Of The Ninth, about a young Roman's attempt to salvage his family's honour by reclaiming the Eagle (the symbol and moral heart of a legion) which was captured when The Ninth went north on an expedition which resulted in the slaughter of 5,000 men.
Marcus Aquila's father was one of those who died when the Eagle was lost, and Marcus (Channing Tatum) is determined to make good the stain on his family's name. Having achieved personal glory defending a fort, but being so badly injured in the process that he is invalided out of the army, he decides to go north, beyond Hadrian's Wall, accompanied only by his slave Esca (Jamie Bell), to find the missing eagle.
Director Kevin Macdonald, who made Touching The Void, Last King Of Scotland and State Of Play, manages to give this story enough energy and subtlety to ensure that it avoids the cliches that many classical movies succumb to, including Centurion, the movie with a very similar plot that was released last year. Here, rather than the violence being emphasised, it is relationships that are most important, especially the bond between Marcus and Esca (that's the bromance part). The western element is all too clear to see, with the Romans as the white men, and the Seal People as the natives; the film climaxes in a prolonged chase that inevitably and deliberately evokes Last Of The Mohicans. And the political parallel is drawn by having the Romans played by Americans, and the main native character, Esca, by an English actor. In other words, the Romans/Americans are a colonising power, who have established themselves in another country, by means of violence and military superiority. I don't have to spell it out any more.
I would rate this is as a good rather than a great movie, though in its own understated way, it's the equal of Gladiator, and better than a lot of other sword-and-sandal epics. It has intelligence, and keeps things on a human scale, while the battle scenes look more like real fights and less like CGI creations. At a time of year when there is so much dross around, and increasing volumes of it heading your way, this is definitely worth your time and money.
