The Eagle

[yoco]

Release Date: February 25, 2011
Studio: Focus Features
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Screenwriter: Jeremy Brock
Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, Mark Strong, Tahar Rahim
Genre: Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (for battle sequences and some disturbing images)

In 140 AD, two men - master and slave - venture beyond the edge of the known world on a dangerous and obsessive quest that will push them beyond the boundaries of loyalty and betrayal, friendship and hatred, deceit and heroism...The Roman epic adventure "The Eagle" stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell and is directed by Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald. 20 years earlier, Rome's 5,000-strong Ninth Legion, under the command of Flavius Aquila, marched north carrying their treasured golden Eagle emblem. They never returned; Legion and Eagle simply vanished into the mists. Hearing a rumor that the Eagle has been seen in a tribal temple in the far north, Flavius' son Marcus (Tatum), determined to restore the tarnished reputation of his father, is galvanized into action. Accompanied only by his slave Esca (Bell), Marcus sets out into the vast and dangerous highlands of Scotland - to confront its savage tribes, make peace with his father's memory, and retrieve the hallowed Eagle. Along the way Marcus realizes that the mystery of his father's disappearance may well be linked to the secret of his own slave's identity and loyalty - a secret all the more pressing when the two come face-to-face with the warriors of the fearsome Seal Prince (Tahar Rahim)

[slikrapid]

impression? weak & contrived, yet another distortion of history by the entertainment industry

venture beyond the edge of the known world

more correctly beyond the borders of their empire

on a dangerous and obsessive quest

you can say that again, the quest being to retrieve a symbol of the empire (eagle), fueled by the artificially created connection of its loss with a collective responsibility or shame 'bestowed' upon the family of the symbol bearer (father), notice also how the eagle symbol is still in use today (fi. many usa official emblems), some say that usa is actually today's version (or the successor or a related part of it) of the imperialistic roman empire

The Roman epic adventure "The Eagle" stars Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell

more like a lame adventure with two inept actors

sets out into the vast and dangerous highlands of Scotland - to confront its savage tribes

so we are supposed to believe how rome was a civilized empire and those outside of it were savages? ridiculous

also, any particular reason why the enemies are wearing paint or why their leader is of arabic ancestry? to distinguish them from the imaginary 'pure' race of romans and connect to the so-called terrorists of the present day perhaps?

[SealLion]

.......

so we are supposed to believe how rome was a civilized empire and those outside of it were savages? ridiculous

......

Yes, an that's what people in those times, I am sure your aware of, had it's citizens believe. Even nowadays, the term 'barbarian' has meanings to a person without culture, is a savage, and lives in a primitive state. Of course, barbarians in the time that this film was supposed to take place were far, far removed from any notions of living in a primitive state, having no culture, and being uncivilized.

Of course, the Roman citizens deemed themselves to be far more civilized than all of their conquered kingdoms and peoples, like the people from Africa, Gaul, Espania and so forth. I believe that ancient Greeks were the exceptions. Of course, they called the Gauls and Andalusians and others that they conquered barbarians.

I should note here that the Romans gathered in belief anyone outside of Greco-Roman ancestry, civilization, or citizenry as barbarians.

We of course know this too be far from truthful. For example, it is known that some Vandals of North Africa were indeed poets. Language in itself is a part of one's culture. Again, take for example the language of the Vandals. Since Vandalic is a leg off from the Germanic language, it is known that all Indo-European languages hold thier common ancestry to what is now commonly known as " Proto-Germanic ".

This proto-Germanic is known to be characterized by a number of unique linguistic features. Sorry, I can't recall atm; however, proto-Germanicis the father of both the German and English languages.
Proto-Germanic also groups the languages of the Dutch and Afrikaans languages.

Culture anyone...??

This film, also depicts those 'barbarians' from Northern Scotland, a.k.a. Picts. The Picts were in Northern Scotland long, long before the Romans came to conquer the Island. Archeological linguists have known that the Picts had their own language of course. Much like any other culture would too, yes??

Eventually, the Picts were known to have merged with another kingdom in Scotland to form at that time the Kingdom of Alba (Scotland). Some things that are known about this cultured group of peoples are that they were an agrarian people. Picts were farmers that lived in relatively small communities. Cattle and horses indicate wealth and prestige. They owned sheep and pigs which were kept in large numbers in thier tribes.

These kinds of activities sound far from being uncivilized.
Archeological sources from Ireland indicate that people from Pictland were also involved in competition. Here's an example:the Pictish élite engaged in competitive cattle-breeding for sizes.
So they had competitions...??
That doesn't sound like anyone culture being barbaric to me.
Other archeological evidence supports that they were engaged in artistic pursuits such as carving with wood.

But this is what Hollywood and it's blood and gore industry hosts and at times, falsely portrays 'barbarians'...sad to say, isn't it??