Movie Marathon - Centurion vs The Eagle

The Movie Marathon has returned! After having looked at Liam Neeson's action filmography and the Alien quadrilogy, I now turn my attention to two Roman action adventures in the shape of Neil Marhsall's 2010 Centurion and Kevin Macdonald's 2011 The Eagle, both taking place during the Roman occupation of Britain.

While there is no direct connection in the production of either film, with their close release dates being coincidental, both revolve around the Spanish Ninth Legion that disappeared along with their golden eagle emblem (also known as an aquila) the other side of Hadrian's Wall. Centurion explores what happened to the missing legion and their battle for survival, while The Eagle sees a former Roman officer go in search of the eagle in hope of redemption.

As expected from that description, Centurion opts for a more gritty and bleak depiction. The film's director was also behind British horror flicks such as Dog Soldiers, The Descent and Doomsday (the latter which I bashed in my previous review) and his style is evident here again.

Forming the Spanish Ninth Legion, Centurion features the ever reliable Michael Fassbender as centurion Quintus Dias. The supporting cast include an equally good Dominic West, Liam Cunningham, Noel Clarke, Imogen Poots, and Olga Kurylenko as the mute warrior hunting down the survivors. While I liked Fassbender's performance and thought the cast were well chosen, the film occasionally suffers from really bad ADR (where the lines are replaced in post-production), particularly in a scene where the survivors are supposed to bond.

Unfortunately that is only the start of the film's problems. While the locations are great and create a sense of the cold, harsh atmosphere, the screenplay offers little we haven't seen before. This in turn hurt the excitement in any of the action sequences which roll from one to the next. That being said, the initial attack where the legion are torn apart is a standout moment, aiming for the heights of Ridley Scott's Gladiator, but even this suffers from a terrible use of CGI blood. Every time the red stuff pops up, it looks cartoonish and suggests the producers were torn between making a 12a or 15 rated film. This ultimately cheapens the experience and goes over-the-top as it spews everywhere.

While Marshall shows moments of greatness, that he would later put to use in Game of Thrones, Black Sails and Hannibal, Centurion does not deliver the heart-pulsing historical action film it hoped to be. History buffs might get something from the historical background, costumes etc but it won't be enough to stop them from seeing through the facade.

Moving on to Macdonald's The Eagle, we see Channing Tatum as Marcus Flavius Aquila fighting off Celtic tribesmen. Unlike Centurion, history fans will enjoy seeing how The Eagle explores Roman life in Britain after Marcus is injured in combat and lives with his uncle, played by Donald Sutherland. Having been discharged, Marcus is keen to find out what happened to his father's missing legion and return the eagle with the help of his slave, Esca, played by Jamie Bell.

What follows is an interesting action adventure where the two go in search of the eagle while coming under attack from the picts. Tatum and Bell both play off each other very well, with neither side trusting the other and this dynamic keeps the film moving. Macdonald maintains this element of intrigue throughout as the two find a legion survivor in the shape of a haggard Mark Strong. While not perfect, The Eagle is a far more consistent film and feels neater in its story structure than Centurion.

Both films pack gorgeous visuals, but The Eagle takes things further as we see Marcus' desperation to survive and return the eagle sets in. This maybe partly due to Macdonald have directed survival thriller, Touching the Void. Credit should also go to the cast as all four are great, particularly Tatum as he made the move to more dramatic roles.

The moments of action, while sometimes assisted with CGI, are also very good. While Centurion's use of violence felt routine, any action sequence here carries weight to it. However, it is unfortunate that the film with better action sequences is almost bloodless reducing the affect at times but it is not enough to damage the overall experience. What really hurts The Eagle though is a particularly weak ending that's almost cringe worthy and could have easily been fixed.

With that said, The Eagle is the clear winner of the two. It offers an interesting if unoriginal story, solid acting and generally good action. Neither will go down on the top 10 best Roman Empire films but explore two points in the same historical subject that will appeal to history fans and enjoyment can be found in both.