The Eagle

A bonus feature on the making of "The Eagle" portrays the film as being an unprecedented epic -- a tale told as never told before. Damned shame, because the charm of "The Eagle" is that it travels a road predictable to everyone in love with late-Roman Empire male-bonding sagas, but does so with thoroughly satisfying gusto, conviction and macho good looks. It is not its uniqueness but rather its comfortable familiarity that makes it worth seeing.

Second-century soldier Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) sets out into the wilderness of the British Isles beyond Hadrian's Wall seeking to recover the eagle standard lost by his father in a stunning defeat years earlier. For a companion he takes a local Celtic slave, Esca (Jamie Bell), and between spilling their guts with tales of family woes and past injustices and pulverizing each other with their fists when the occasion warrants, they form a bond that rises above cultural and class separation.

The DVD and Blu-Ray both offer theater-release versions as well as longer director cut versions, and an alternative ending that is fairly weak but explores the subliminal homoerotic relationship ever so much more than the official version. Two deleted scenes are also offered, but the scenes do nothing to advance the story and are not worth the viewing.

The supporting cast is strong, although it's a bit difficult to think of Dennis O'Hare as a Roman soldier rather than a villainous vampire from "True Blood" or any number of minor criminal roles from "Law and Order," or to think of Donald Sutherland as Aquila's uncle rather than ... well, Donald Sutherland. Think of "The Eagle" as "Rome" with an all-male cast and simpler storyline and you will be more than happy watching the virtuous man-love develop during the quest for redemption and honor.

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The Eagle
DVD/Bluray
Universal Home Entertainment