Roman Warrior's Quest For Honor Tests Friendship in 'The Eag

A quest for honor becomes a test of friendship and respect for a Roman warrior¹ and his slave in ancient Britain. The adventure set 20 centuries ago is re-told in a new film starring Channing Tatum and Jamie Bell and directed by Kevin MacDonald. Here's a look at The Eagle.
"Father of our fathers, help me lead my men well. Do not let me dishonor my legion. Please help me regain² my family's honor."
Marcus Aquila is the newly-appointed commander of a frontier outpost in northernmost Britain along the wall that separates the Roman-ruled province from the warrior tribes of Caledonia (what is now Scotland). The young officer is searching for clues to what happened there 20 years earlier when his father led Rome's Ninth Legion, 5,000 strong, into the mist-covered hills, never to be seen again.
Marcus Aquila believes if he can recover the sculpted³ eagle standard under which his father and the Ninth Legion marched into battle, he can erase⁴ the shame their loss caused to Rome and his family name; but to do so, he needs the help of a slave - a young Briton named Esca whose own family is also linked to those events.
"No Roman can survive north of the wall alone."
"Then I'll take Esca. I can use his knowledge. He speaks the language."
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Channing Tatum as Marcus Aquila in "The Eagle"
American actor Channing Tatum stars as Marcus Aquila. He has played contemporary soldiers in several other films and Tatum sees a modern equivalent to this story of ancient enemies.
"I kind of equated⁵ it to putting a Taliban soldier and a U.S. soldier together and if they had to rely on each other to survive, would they do it?" explains Tatum. "What would they learn about each other in this survival mode? Would they put aside their differences and make it through or would they just kill each other? I think human instinct goes a long way. It just wants to survive."
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Jamie Bell as Esca in "The Eagle"
English actor Jamie Bell co-stars as Esca and says it took some research to understand the character.
"Specifically, I didn't really know that much about this moment in history: what the Roman occupation of Britain was like, how many tribes were taken out, what the native peoples of Britain were all about," admits Bell. "So I actually went to a lot of museums and just looked at some of the artifacts and some of the archaeology⁶ and, just from a very physical level, saw what they had at their hands and what they could use. So that informs it a lot, but then, personally [which I think is the most profound part], this guy has nothing ...he has nothing to live for. Everything has been taken away from him by these people. Also, I think because he didn't die ...because he went on to survive and was then captured by these people and enslaved ...there is a sense of shame and guilt⁷ that goes with this journey."
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Kevin McDonald and Channing Tatum on the set of "The Eagle"
Guiding them on the cinematic journey, Scottish-born director Kevin MacDonald says he tried to create an authentic⁸ portrayal⁹ of ancient times while telling a very up-to-date story.
"I always saw this film as a 'western' set in the Roman world," explains MacDonald, "and it shares a lot of themes with some of the classic westerns of the 1950's, 60's and, particularly, the 70's when a lot of the westerns of that period [were] a commentary on the Vietnam War. Nobody wanted to see films about the Vietnam War then; it took a few more years for anyone to make one, but, of course, it was on everybody's minds. In the same way, I think today if you make a film about occupation and clashing of cultures, it's very difficult not to see that as in some way relevant to what's going on in the world today if you're British or American or whatever. Maybe a film that reflects on those issues, but in a more oblique¹⁰ way, would be more welcome."
The Eagle screenplay is by Jeremy Brock, adapted from Rosemary Sutcliff's internationally popular novel The Eagle of the Ninth. The international cast includes Canadian Donald Sutherland as Marcus Aquila's influential¹¹ uncle and French-born Tahar Rahim as the fearsome prince of the "seal people" tribe in ancient Scotland.

1 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

2 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

3 sculpted   

adj.经雕塑的

参考例句：

• a display of animals sculpted in ice 冰雕动物展
• The ladies had their hair sculpted by the leading coiffeur of the day. 女士们的发型都是当代有名的理发师做的。

4 erase   

v.擦掉；消除某事物的痕迹

参考例句：

• He tried to erase the idea from his mind.他试图从头脑中抹掉这个想法。
• Please erase my name from the list.请把我的名字从名单上擦去。

5 equated   

adj.换算的v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的过去式和过去分词 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• Production costs for the movie equated to around 30% of income. 这部电影的制作成本相当于收益的30%。
• Politics cannot be equated with art. 政治不能同艺术等同起来。

6 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

7 guilt   

n.犯罪；内疚；过失，罪责

参考例句：

• She tried to cover up her guilt by lying.她企图用谎言掩饰自己的罪行。
• Don't lay a guilt trip on your child about schoolwork.别因为功课责备孩子而使他觉得很内疚。

8 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

9 portrayal   

n.饰演；描画

参考例句：

• His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
• The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。

10 oblique   

adj.斜的，倾斜的，无诚意的，不坦率的

参考例句：

• He made oblique references to her lack of experience.他拐弯抹角地说她缺乏经验。
• She gave an oblique look to one side.她向旁边斜看了一眼。

11 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。