The Eagle Directed by: Kevin Macdonald Starring: Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland Rating: PG-13 Release Date: February 11, 2011
TRAILER SCORE: 6/10
MY THOUGHTS: It didn't blow me away, but this trailer did make me want to see the film. As presented here, the cinematography and filming locales of The Eagle look to be fantastic. The score in the trailer was fairly derivative; standard music to augment the excitement and adventure that such a film promises. The story seems fairly basic, but I am interested in learning more, mostly due to the time period and the setting of the film. Analyzing a screenplay, through the viewing of a lone trailer, is pretty tricky (bordering on the impossible), so I shouldn't comment too much on such, other than to say that the dialogue here seemed adequate enough. With a good script, this could make for an excellent film.
The cast looks solid -- I've always loved Jamie Bell, and I'm excited to see his career is still in full swing. By my estimation, Channing Tatum is also a solid actor, but I feel like he's got too modern a look for a 2nd-century Roman warrior. In still photography, with some grit and grime photo-shopped in, I could see it, but in this trailer, I just kept thinking that he looked like a man/boy contemporary to present day fraternity keggers. Perhaps he'll prove me wrong though, I wouldn't be too surprised. He showed phenomenal chops in A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints. It's nice to see that Donald Sutherland is still in the game, as he's been consistently good in most everything I've seen him in -- he's an old stand-by, and should add some necessary weight to the picture.
Ultimately, for me, the strongest point of this trailer was when director Kevin Macdonald's name was flashed on screen. He directed State of Play, The Last King of Scotland, and perhaps my favorite documentary ever: Touching the Void. Learning that it was Macdonald at the helm of The Eagle was an automatic-bid for my future attendance. Consider me sold.