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The Eagle came out this last Friday, so I checked it out to see Channing Tatum in a lead role for a violent film (no dancing involved).

The film takes place in Roman times with Rome having already conquered the known world. Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) stars as the son to the famous general who led a 5,000 man legion into the unknown woods and no one came back. His father held the golden eagle, the symbol of Rome and it was lost to the battle. Twenty years later, Marcus is a grown man and only wants to have the honor owed to his family restored. He goes out with his slave to re-capture the golden eagle and in doing so re-creates his father's final days.

During the movie, Marcus goes from leader to injured, to leader, to slave, to leader etc. I couldn't figure out if the story was trying to stay on the honor part or the master/slave relationship with his sidekick. I thought the battles were shot too close to the action so you couldn't really see what was happening. There was only a battle at the very beginning and end so what I thought would be more violence was a little disapointing. The story just drags for the middle hour-and-a-half as you watch him just struggle and be angry that he can't find the eagle. On a bright note, Channing did well with his role in general as well as commanding those around him. I also liked the scenery of the giant panning shots in the mountains.

The Eagle probably isn't worth your $10 but might be worth a rental later on. It's playing at the Carmike and is rated PG-13.