The Eagle

Focus Features

Rated PG-13

Running time: 114 Minutes



Set during the Roman Empire, Focus Features The Eagle, has a Roman Legion of 5000 infantry men disappear. 20 years later, the Legion commander's son Channing Tatum tries to find out what has happened to his father who had commanded the missing legion in order to regain his honor and retrieve their golden emblem - an Eagle.

This film is about honor as Channing Tatum tries to regain his family's honor - especially when his men consider Tatum to be a bad omen; Tatum's slave Jamie Bell's honor of staying with Tatum when Tatum saved Bell's life; and also of the Eagle's honor - which represents Rome. The senator friend of Tatum's uncle, Donald Sutherland, as well as the senator's son did not seem to have any honor as they refuse to support Tatum's one man expedition to investigate rumors of the location of the Eagle. The film also becomes a road/buddy film when Tatum and Bell leave home and set off past the "known world" and explore the land out north past the Wall Barrier to search for the Eagle. When the tables turn, and Bell becomes the master and Tatum becomes the slave, makes you think about the whole idea of slavery that we do not experience today and what it really means to be free - that slavery is more than just a matter of servitude.

I did not know that the Roman Empire had reached as far as the British Isles. That part was very interesting to me as the British Isles gave a different landscape for the film than a traditional European location for the Roman Empire. While The Eagle is more of a drama than an action film - there are battle sequences in the move, which unfortunately are not as epic as I would have preferred. The battle scenes also just end - instead of finishing the battle, which left me feeling a little unsatisfied as to the resolution of the battles. However, the violence of the movie is not that graphic despite the brutality of the times. The final fate of what happened to the missing legion is rather sad and made me consider what could go up against 5,000 trained heavily armed legionnaire soldiers.

Rated PG-13 for violence. Running time: 114 minutes.

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

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The Mechanic

CBS Films

Rated R

Running time: 93 minutes
































Click below to watch The Mechanic trailer.



In CBS Films The Mechanic, Jason Statham is a "Mechanic" - otherwise known as a hit man. When his mentor Donald Sutherland is killed, Statham reluctantly takes on Sutherland's hothead son Ben Foster as his trainee as they both go after the people responsible for Sutherland's death.

A remake of The Mechanic that starred Charles Bronson and Jan-Michael Vincent, this movie shows that being a Mechanic is a profession and the type of "hits" Statham is required to do is almost an art form. I like the quote that "the best jobs are the ones, nobody ever knows you were there." While I have never seen the original film - and granted one of the reasons I saw this current film was that someone that I have worked with in Hollywood, Richard Wenk, co-wrote the script - I liked how Statham trained Foster, stressing the homework and surveillance as well as the weapons training. Stathan and Foster basically become a professional choreographed team, despite Foster's rashness. There is also more characterization in the movie than I had expected for this film, as really the film is more about the almost father-son relationship between Statham and Foster. Sutherland is a memorable character as Statham's mentor, while Tony Goldwyn is not as smarmy as I wanted him to be as the head of the company that Statham works for - especially when you consider the many millions each contract hit is worth.

The direction by Simon West is typical for his action and seamier side of life - although putting both styles together is almost too schizophrenic for the film. The people getting shot in the film can also be rather graphic. Considering the amount of mayham and destruction that was carried out amongst the streets, it was unbelievable to me that no police forces were anywhere around to try to handle the situation. The climax is not as satisfying either - as the bad guy just basically runs away, instead of trying to fight Statham and Foster. The tag can also be depressing to see as it was for me, as you have grown to care about the characters.

Rated R for violence, nudity, and sexual situations. Running time: 93 minutes

Pancho
All people smile in the same language.

 Pancho's Movie Reviews