The Eagle, as it was known upon its release, comes to DVD and Blu-Ray on June 21, 2011. Based on the acclaimed YA book by the late Rosemary Sutcliffe (originally titled “The Eagle of the Ninth”, but don’t get me started on that), the film tells the story of  Roman soldier Marcus Aquila (Channing Tatum) and his quest to restore his family’s honor by finding the symbol of the lost 9th Legion that disappeared with his father and thousands of troops twenty years earlier.

Marcus and his slave, Esca (Jamie Bell),  are forced to battle the raw Highland landscape and the primeval Caledonian forests (this was 2nd century, so there were still some left) not to mention the savage native tribes.  “Their journey pushes them beyond the boundaries of loyalty and betrayal, friendship and hatred, deceit and heroism.”*

I’m no fan of Channing Tatum, but I am a fan of both British history and Mark Strong. I’m still not over how long I waited to see this movie and the disturbing Strong to Tatum ratio I had to sit through. When production began on the film and details started to be released, it was revealed that Strong would be a ‘good guy’, in and of itself enough to cause a flutter of excitement given his recent spate of villains. But by the time he actually shows up in this film, I had forgotten he was in it. He has one good scene, albeit with an American accent, and then disappears. (I’ll say no more on that score.) All I can think is “what a waste”.

Seriously, why cast an actor of Strong’s caliber if you aren’t going to give him anything to do? (Sorry, climbing out of the mist looking menacing is not enough.) I have to wonder if the rest of Guern (Strong’s character) didn’t end up on the cutting room floor, along with the rest of the source material’s title.

The good news is that both discs will contain an unrated version (which I’m hoping has much more Mark Strong), and the Blu-ray will also include the theatrical version and a digital copy plus has special features that include:

• Commentary with director Kevin Macdonald
• The Eagle: Making of a Roman Epic
• Alternate ending
• Deleted scenes

Bottom line, I’ll be adding this one to my collection because I’m a completist and will have to have it for my Mark Strong collection, despite his abbreviated appearance.