It is the year 1215 and the rebel barons of England have forced their despised King John to put his royal seal to the Magna Carta, a noble, seminal document that upheld the rights of free-men. Yet within months of pledging himself to the great charter, the King reneged on his word and assembled a mercenary army on the south coast of England with the intention of bringing the barons and the country back under his tyrannical rule. Barring his way stood the mighty Rochester castle, a place that would become the symbol of the rebel's momentous struggle for justice and freedom. King John Lackland reneges in 1215, the year the barons force him to sign to Magna Carta, on its parliamentary terms to resume his tyrannical misrule, and raised an army of pagan mercenaries to smash those barons who dare resist again. William d'Aubigny's warrior band, including knight Templar Thomas Marshal and his squire Guy, decides to make a stand in Rochester, a strategic castle to bar the road to London, so they force its lord, baron Reginald de Cornhill, to side with them after eliminating the Danish watchdogs. Captain Tiberius's mercenary band fails for months to make their numeric superiority count during a bloody siege, over which John presides personally, eager to take the castle before French and/or domestic rebel reinforcements may arrive. Baron Reginald's wife Isabel regrets their arranged marriage, enough to nearly-openly lust for handsome crusade veteran Thomas, who however takes his order vows seriously. Ironclad went largely unnoticed, but it's one of the most exhilarating sword and battle ax genre jaunts since Centurion or 300. (We won't speak of PG-13 balderdash like The Eagle of The Last Legion). It's actually bloodier and more intense than both 300/Centurion, leaving a ghastly trail of severed limbs, screaming combat and grisly carnage in its wake. Paul Giamatti, in full batshit crazy mode, plays the letcherous, sleazy, unendingly corrupt King John, a usurper of the throne, despised by other Lords and Barons, for his nasty ways. He mounts a mercenary army and attempts to take the stronghold of Rochester castle, gaining the power of Baron De Cornhill (Derek Jakobi) and his feisty young bride (Kate Mara makes a stunning medieval princess.) Standing in his way are a ragtag band of swords for hire who believe in an England free from this tyrant, led by strong jawed Thomas Marshal (the very underrated James Purefoy who needs to be in lead roles more often). Also taking up arms with him is Albany (Brian Cox, stellar as ever and quite limber in the stunt work), and Gil Becket (Jason Flemyng). They are all,that stands between King John and Rochester, and they fight tooth, nail and bone to end his brutal, I'll gotten reign. The fight scenes are a crimson blast of swords, knives, axes, a dazzling flurry of eye popping hand to hand carnage that doesn't censor anything, and shows the graphic nature of such a time. It's a vibrant adventure, with small,scale battles where you can keep track of whose who, giving it that personal quality, as well still having the spectacle thunder out of the screen at you in full force. Plus it has one doozy of a villain in Giamatti, this is a guy you love to loathe. Highly recommended. Ironclad is the story of the Rochester Castle siege, set during medieval times as King John is forced to sign the Magna Carta by the barons. Angered at having to do it, he decides to take out his frustration on England and also wants to take Rochester Castle, a strategically strong point in England, in case of possible invasion from France.<br/><br/>Preventing King John from doing that is the team of Brian Cox, James Purefoy, Jason Flemyng, Jamie Foreman, Aneurin Banard, Mackenzie Crook and castle owner Derek Jacobi and Kate Mara. It is James' character of Marshall that receives a huge amount of attention as he struggles with his blood lust against John countered with his vows and his conscience dealing with Kate Mara's somewhat bold aristocrat. <br/><br/>What makes the film is its action and what action it is! Bold, visceral, with the viewer very much in the middle feeling what the actors are feeling. At times, it can be sometimes very intense although a criticism I have is this tendency towards steady cam and giving the camera movement. It is all well and good but if the camera was moved a bit wider to accommodate the action more, it would have been a better film. That said, perfecting steady cam and utilising hand held cameras is quite an art and mastering it takes time and experienced camera men.<br/><br/>Yet these steady cam issues are minor niggles. What emerged from those months in Wales for Jonathan English and his superb cast is a brilliant film, nicely rendered and balanced with some good, real balls to the walls action interplayed with a good mix of romance and scene setting. It was also nice to see some of my buddies in the film, doing their thing. Hopefully more work coming their way after this.<br/><br/>Go along and watch it. You won't be disappointed. While Ironclad captures the casual cruelty and flesh-and-bone violence of the 13th century, it fails to do the same in the more intimate material set in the downtime between assaults.
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