2011's The Eagle could have been a highlight in Channing Tatum's career but the film was a box-office disappointment. A Roman history expert revisits one scene that redeems the movie's poor reception among audiences and critics.

Sword-and-sandal films have been popular since the turn of the 19th century; the genre has also launched many actors into highly successful careers. Standout examples of these include Kirk Douglas' casting in Spartacus, Charlton Heston in Ben-Hur, and Russell Crowe in Gladiator; Troy and Alexander attempted to replicate this with Brad Pitt and Colin Farrell, but critics and audiences panned their performances. Channing Tatum received similar feedback for 2011's The Eagle, now confirmed as one of his worst-reviewed movies. Fans now have an incentive to revisit that film thanks to Insider and Michael Taylor, an expert on ancient Roman history.

He praised The Eagle's realistic and historically accurate skirmishes, particularly one scene where Tatum's character Marcus takes down a chariot with a javelin. "When we hear of chariots being taken out, the advice is send someone with a missile weapon, an archer or a slinger or, in this instance, a guy with a pilum and kill the driver, that disables the chariot," he said. "You kill one guy and the whole system is broken, whereas with the cavalry men, you might kill one cavalryman, but there's others on those horses. Overall, this clip is really good, I'm tempted to give [the scene] a nine [out of ten rating]. Taylor gave that scene his highest rating, compared to similar sequences from films like Gladiator, Spartacus, and even Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

The Eagle Praised For Historically-Accurate Battle Scenes

Taylor also noted one scene where Marcus' unit was overwhelmed and surrounded by the enemy. "So we do hear of a formation that we use when you are, unfortunately, like these Romans, surrounded by enemies and it is called an Orbis," he explained. "Basically, a circle as a formation if you need to form a perimeter on all sides. So whether or not it looked exactly like that, obviously we can't say, but that is actually a real formation." That scene had Tatum's character rallying his unit, much like Crowe's Maximus in Gladiator's iconic arena battle sequence.

Critical reviews of The Eagle noted Tatum's underwhelming performance as the main protagonist; many still praised the film for its cinematography and limited use of CGI. The Eagle hampered Tatum's bankability as a lead actor, but he has since proven his mettle with films like Haywire, 22 Jump Street, and the Magic Mike series. Tatum will play a former military pilot in Fly Me to the Moon, a historical fiction inspired by the Apollo 11 launch.