Review of Ironclad (2011) by Garrett R — 05 Aug 2011

IRONCLAD is a solemn, thoroughly violent and dramatic historical mid-budget period action film. Director Jonathan English tells the story surrounding the Magna Carta signing in 1215 and King John's retaliation against the document. This document was written by the land barons the King stole goods (and wives) from, and it upheld the laws of free-men and placed them in charge of their lands, and not the King.

The story's focus is on a small group of Templars and knights led by Albany (who was present at the Magna Carta signing) and Marshal who make an oath to hold out against King John and his mercenary army in Southern England's Rochester Castle. For their oath and their dedication to defending Rochester Castle was the only defense (until the French would arrive) against King John's wrathful forces, ready to take over England and the focal point of control (for London and Southern England to begin with). One could say this battle echoes past battle situations (Thermopylae, for instance) and The Alamo in terms of against-the-odds warfare, but what makes IRONCLAD stand out from recent battle films that are based in the same period (KING ARTHUR, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, etc.) is its incredibly vivid and bloody battle sequences which show the full-frontal brutality of medieval warfare.

With a strong cast that features James Purefoy (SOLOMON KANE, CAMELOT) as a skilled Knights Templar swordsman Marshal, Brian Cox as Albany, Jason Flemying as Becket, Kate Mara (SHOOTER) as Isabel of Rochester, and Paul Giamatti as a truly devious and dread-imposing King John. This cast elevates IRONCLAD to be the historical action picture that could and is a fine under-the-radar find at that (having gone through budget and production setbacks in 2009 and filming late that year).

Jonathan English filmed and paces IRONCLAD in a modernist fast-paced and no-nonsense style and visual tone that brings a necessary solemnity to the material at hand. The screenplay, also by English, is filled with great dialogue but at times lacks the necessary spark of character motivation that would have set IRONCLAD apart from its genre predecessors. And a few subplots can have been snubbed on the editing floor (mainly the sort-of romance between Mara's Isabel and Purefoy's Marshal), because the main reason the audience comes to see a film such an IRONCLAD is to see bloody and brutal battle sequences in the package of a (mostly) historical medieval film.

For what IRONCLAD is, a solemn and thoroughly violent medieval action picture, it delivers the bloody brutal battle goods in spades. And seeing James Purefoy continue his streak of strong, rough good-guy performances along with Paul Giamatti taking a swing (and hitting a home run) as the royally heartless and ruthless King John only adds to the excitement that results from seeing IRONCLAD with an open mind.