The Eagle
Focus Features | Release Date: February 11, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 35 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
19
Negative:
3
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
83
Entertainment WeeklyLisa SchwarzbaumFeb 9, 2011
The story and setting may be ancient, but under the direction of Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), and with a nicely textured screenplay by Macdonald's Scotland coscreenwriter Jeremy Brock, the vigor is fully modern. Read full review
80
Chicago ReaderMichael WilmingtonFeb 10, 2011
Exciting and even moving, this robust epic is filled with action, male bonding, and a terrifying sense of wilderness. Read full review
80
Time OutKeith UhlichFeb 9, 2011
Do you like movies about gladiators? Well, lend me your ears: The Eagle will more than gratify your sword-and-sandal cravings. Read full review
80
Village VoiceJ. HobermanFeb 8, 2011
The Eagle is full of action and fleet of foot-it's a movie of smoky, lowering battlefields and trippy, space-bending flashbacks, pausing only for admiring location shots of Scotland's wild, craggy vistas. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanFeb 10, 2011
An honest, basic story set forth with brevity, skill, care and intelligence. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertFeb 9, 2011
A rip-snorting adventure tale of the sort made before CGI, 3-D and alphabet soup in general took the fun out of moviegoing. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinFeb 14, 2011
The Eagle is furiously unsettled-thematically, temporally, meteorologically. Wild-eyed, long-haired Brits leap atop the Romans' shields as the soldiers blindly hack away, the bodies so close that you can barely tell the victor from the vanquished. The battles in the fog and rain have a hallucinatory power. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyFeb 7, 2011
The Eagle is an engaging, if straightforward and one-dimensional. Read full review
70
VarietyBrian LowryFeb 7, 2011
While the movie doesn't wholly succeed, there's enough to like here -- including Channing Tatum's credible performance as a tradition-bound Roman soldier. Read full review
67
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallFeb 9, 2011
Yes, The Eagle is as bad as it sounds but also entertaining, in a "Mystery Science Theater 3000" sort of way that Macdonald didn't intend. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsFeb 11, 2011
It's pure speculation on the filmmakers' part that Gaelic pagans were adorned with bones, blue mud and Mohawks, but the fire-dancing spectacle is a welcome respite from the beefcake of the journey scenes. Read full review
63
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie RickeyFeb 10, 2011
Though not deep, the movie is diverting. Read full review
63
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsFeb 10, 2011
The Eagle becomes more interesting the further north it travels. Read full review
60
Arizona RepublicKerry LengelFeb 9, 2011
The many battle sequences, though carefully detailed, are lacking in energy and originality. There is some ambition here, but the results fall short. Read full review
60
The New YorkerAnthony LaneFeb 7, 2011
Much of Sutcliff's most charged material - the chariot scene, a wolf cub that Marcus rears - is omitted from the movie, and once he and Esca embark on their quest the sense of action grows listless, and our heroes start to seem anxious, wet, and bored. [14 & 21 Feb. 2011, p. 138]
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerFeb 12, 2011
However you slice it, The Eagle is hokum, but modern-day Scots may get a kick out of the film's depiction of their ancestors as mud-caked hellions. Modern-day Romans will have to settle for less. Read full review
50
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike ScottFeb 11, 2011
McDonald's film never really finds its footing -- and The Eagle never takes flight. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen ColeFeb 11, 2011
They're not much company, our Marcus and Esca. But there we are, mucking through crazy Scotland with them. Read full review
50
Portland OregonianShawn LevyFeb 10, 2011
A hodgepodge of bits cribbed from such films as "Centurion," "Apocalypto," "300" and "Gladiator." Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliFeb 10, 2011
Through it all, Tatum tries like crazy to Act. His eyes pinch. His brow scrunches. Most of all, he clenches his jaw, little creases of muscle flexing below his ears as he labors to emote. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenFeb 10, 2011
Plays it straight down the middle, neither pushing its contemporary vantage point nor embracing the chance for B-movie glory. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottFeb 10, 2011
Lumbering along for a bit less than two hours, which passes like three, it feels more like a chore than like an adventure. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeWesley MorrisFeb 10, 2011
Part of the trouble is casting. This is a movie that needs a great or gonzo performer to give it depth or heft. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubScott TobiasFeb 10, 2011
The formalities of the period dialogue and a wavering, inexplicable accent test him (Tatum) beyond his limits, and the film isn't thoughtful or original enough to survive it. Read full review
50
SalonAndrew O'HehirFeb 10, 2011
Bastardizes the source material to no good purpose, ending up with a strained combination of rah-rah, boy-bonding adventure and p.c. cross-cultural exploration. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenFeb 10, 2011
A mildly engaging and roughly historical action picture. Read full review
50
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezFeb 10, 2011
Aside from the thin characterizations, The Eagle never manages to convey the importance of the heroes' quest. Read full review
50
MovielineElvis MitchellFeb 9, 2011
What he's missing in The Eagle is that spark of the insane - the slightly lunatic fever that makes us unable to keep our eyes off him (Channing Tatum). Read full review
50
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreFeb 9, 2011
Manages to deliver a striking, nicely detailed, visceral thriller built on a corny, old-fashioned script. Read full review
40
EmpireHelen O\'HaraMar 21, 2011
Good fight scenes, but a confusion of plot, culture and accents make this a lesser example of the sword 'n' sandal epic. Read full review
40
Boxoffice MagazineSteve RamosFeb 12, 2011
The storytelling falters throughout and The Eagle, despite its grandeur. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierFeb 11, 2011
This old-fashioned sword-and-sandal drama has all the bread and circuses we've come to know from the movies. It flirts with interesting story choices, but ultimately, all roads lead to boredom. Read full review
38
Washington PostStephanie MerryFeb 11, 2011
Nothing more than an action-packed bagatelle masquerading as history. Read full review
38
New York PostKyle SmithFeb 11, 2011
A long slog through ancient muck, so-so sword fights and dumb luck. Read full review
38
USA TodayScott BowlesFeb 10, 2011
What it became was bad. A movie that hopes to blend "Lethal Weapon" with "Gladiator" winds up not being a fraction of either. Read full review
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