Review of Ironclad (2011) by James K — 05 Mar 2011

While I liked that it was a non-fantasy medieval based film, it was quite dull. The characters were empty, the battles boring (and blurry), and there are the usually predictable moments. And casting Paul Giamatti and Hate Mara was a bit odd. I didn't mind Giamatti (even with that voice) but, for some reason, Kate Mara seemed completely out of place. It reminded me of that so-called 'Welsh Princess' in 'The Vikings'. You never buy into the believability.

The plot needs no discussion. Watch the trailer or read the synopsis to work it all out. The battles, though, were very disappointing. Most of it involves shaking the camera a lot while someone holds a sword. There is also a lot of blood and mutilation. It is all quite tiring. There is no wincing, no thrills, no feeling the impact of each hit. 'Kingdom of Heaven' is a good film to compare this to. As is Ridley Scott's 'Robin Hood'. Even though they're not brilliant (or just quite poor in 'Robin Hood''s case) they'r emuch better than this. Watch them instead.