Set to hit theaters in just over three months, the first trailer for Kevin Macdonald‘s “The Eagle” (formerly known as “The Eagle Of The Ninth“) has arrived, and it looks like Focus Features had a very good reason to move the film from its originally planned September release.
Starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland and Tahar Rahim, the film will cover the same historical era as Neil Marshall‘s “Centurion,” but instead of centering on the actual legend of the missing ninth Roman legion, Macdonald’s film focuses on the young centurion Marcus Aquila (Tatum) who goes about investigating the now 20-year disappearance of the legion to restore the reputation of his father, who was the legion’s commander.
We know we generally give Tatum a hard time, but he actually looks fine here, filling out the part of a young centurion with some conviction. But the real problem with the trailer is that it seems to give away every twist in the movie and looks pretty generic overall. So yeah, we’re definitely disappointed as we had some hopes for the pic from the director of “The Last King Of Scotland” and “State Of Play.”
“The Eagle” will fly into theaters on February 25, 2011. Check out the synopsis, poster and trailer after the jump (or in HD at Apple).
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).
Looks solid. It should be rated R, though. I liked MacDonald\’s State of Play so I\’ll give this a shot.