IRONCLAD Movie

Defend The Castle. Kill The King. Save The Nation.

Set in 1215, Ironclad sets to tell the tale of what King John and his ruthless armies did next, following the signing of the Magna Carta. Purefoy who plays a Templar Knight called Marshall has nothing to lose and everything to gain by defending Rochester Castle; the only remaining Castle not to be taken by King John. Cox plays Baron Albany who initially leads the Templar Knights into this epic battle.

Where 10 men stand against thousands, this is not only an historic insight, but a display of pure strength, courage and honour to defend free will.

Overall, this was a captivating feature. The characters were developed alongside a simple, yet relevant story line. I was intrigued to find out that the studio which created the muscle-tensing 300, were also responsible for this particular film.

It was soon evident that blood and gore was to be in abundance with fountains of red liquid and prosthetics o’plenty filled the screen. Ironclad must have been a make-up artists and special effects dream.

Human heads, arms and legs were separated mercilessly from bodies as the Knights took on countless attackers. Despite there being a real difference in genre, the level of brutality and outright cruelty to flesh is on a level with the likes of Saw.

I would argue that some of the battle scenes were filmed far too close and some shaky handheld camera work affected the flow at times. However, filming completed inside the Castle experimented with distant shots and slower panning; making for more enjoyable viewing.

You won’t find a host of Hollywood superstars in this movie, but that gives it a more home-grown, believable edge. OK, so it won’t be remembered on a level with Gladiator, Braveheart or other films of similar ilk, but it is well worth a watch if you are a fan of this genre.

8/10

Review by Dan Balchin