All Entries Tagged With: "war movie"

Trailer for “The Eagle” – Is Tatum Playing a Roman Centurion?

I’m all for a good war movie. History films are one of my favorite genres… if done right. I think The Eagle has a nice concept and story behind it, but it just doesn’t look authentic. When I watched this trailer for the first time I said to myself, “Something is off,” but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Is it the fact that city boy Channing Tatum is still holding on to his American accent? Probably. Without him even saying a word and only seeing him in the Roman gear, I thought he looked ridiculous. Tatum just doesn’t translate well as an ancient soldier on screen. Now Gerard Butler, Collin Farrell, and Russel Crow can play any type of soldier and get away with it.

“But wait, what about Orlando Bloom in Troy?” Orlando Bloom played up his physique in Troy. He wasn’t trying to lead an army. When Bloom’s  character, Paris battled Menelaus for Helen he ended up losing. That’s called believability and reality. Can I see Tatum leading Roman men into battle? I can’t, can you?

But what does separate this war film from the rest is the fact that it isn’t a story we’ve heard before in history class. It’s a story about the Romans and Picts of what is now Northern Scotland.  This movie isn’t not your Cleopatra, or Troy. We love those stories and characters, but we’ve heard the story a million time just seen through different eyes. But do I think this factor will save The Eagle at the box office? Well, I’ll hold my tongue until I see it.

Check out the trailer below. The Eagle comes out February 11, 2011.