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2011, 07-12:
Review of film: “IRONCLAD”
Nearly 800 years after the event, the signing of the “MAGNA CARTA” in England in 1215 is still spoken of as one of the seminal events in moving comparative “freedom” & CIVIL RIGHTS forward for people of the world...
... This film tells the “STORY” of that event [which followed an issuance of a “Charter of Liberties” during the reign of King Henry I in the year 1100, which basically granted “civil liberties” to the {Catholic} Church & the nobility in England, not to the “common” man]...
... In the movie’s story, hereditary King John (PAUL GIAMATTI) is a vicious tyrant who wants to control every element of life in his country of England... He & his family members also control much of western FRANCE, such as Normandy, Brittany & Aquitaine...
... Typical of the times, there are frequent “political” machinations & marriages to try to gain increasing “domination” in the areas. He & his family are often in conflict with the king of FRANCE-- who controls what is now CENTRAL & north-eastern France (around Paris, etc.) & who’d like to have power over the western areas...
... John has instituted a series of high taxes, unsuccessful WARS, conflicts with the Pope in Rome, & did other things that made him decidedly DETESTED by those in & around the areas where he has authority..
... A number of powerful barons in the country want to put a STOP to his ability to run roughshod over them & their individual “territories” in the realm, by limiting the King’s powers & granting them special freedoms & rights...
... As the movie starts (& for the 1st five minutes or so), the nobles get together & work to BATTLE Paul & his armies...
... When they beat Paul [by entering London with the tacit support of the kings of France & Scotland], they gave him a choice of either SIGNING what later became known as the Magna Carta (which’d give them the RIGHTS they were seeking), or, he would likely be KILLED...
... Paul is infuriated, but angrily agrees to their demands & “signs” [affixes his seal to] the historic document... But, typical of politicians throughout history, he within months works to RENEGE on his promises (once the barons left London)...
... Of great importance in the matter is the CHURCH, which is always maneuvering to try to maintan its OWN political & economic power in the area. So, the POPE in Rome is regularly involved (a/k/a interfering) in what’s going on, “shifting” his allegiances to try to increase the Church’s PARTICULAR authority & control...
... On the south coast of England, with the Pope’s “blessing” (after “King John” Paul agreed to do what the Pope wanted), Paul assembles an army of mercenaries from Denmark to try to regain control of the Barons & their properties [some of which would go to the Church]...
... The leader of the hired Danish thugs is tall blonde-haired Tiberius (VLADIMIR KULICH), who’s really there due to EXTORTION:
... Paul has made clear that, if Vlad doesn’t do his bidding, he’ll have the POPE work to take over control of Vlad’s home lands & people. (In other words, either Vlad fights for him, or Paul will “unleash” the Catholics in the Danish areas to the northeast...)
... The rest of the movie (beyond the 1st five minutes) is basically the story of Paul’s working to try to regain the POWERS & PROPERTY he’d been forced to “give away” to the barons...
... Archbishop Langton (CHARLES DANCE) is essentially a man of the “PEOPLE”: he dislikes what the POPE has done (in his political plottings), & wants better lives for the “COMMON man” in England...
... Charles thus tries to foster some “behind-the-scenes” REBELLION against evil Paul, before he himself is “discharged” from his position...
... Backing his position is a Knight Templar named Marshall (JAMES PUREFOY), who’d come back from the CRUSADES as an embittered man who supports the basic religious teachings of the Church but not its “SOCIAL” positions towards the common man...
... When men operating on behalf of Paul try to take over a certain area, James fights AGAINST them when Paul has a Church holy man tortured for supposedly being “PART” of the group of barons who’d opposed him & forced him to agree to the Magna Carta charter...
... That act of defiance makes James a “wanted” man & an ENEMY of Paul... James goes to a castle controlled by Baron Albany (= William d’Aubigny, played by BRIAN COX). He’s a fairly old man who’s become a wool merchant, but he believes in having the added RIGHTS given by the charter, & deeply dislikes the attitudes of Paul...
... Brian wants to try to STOP Paul’s plans, & wants to gather together people to try to forestall Paul & his mercenaries by gaining control of geographically important Rochester Castle where they (well before “Superman”) decide to fight for “justice & freedom”...
... Joining Brian is his young educated Squire (assistant) named Guy (ANEURIN BARNARD)...
... They make efforts to recruit some others into their “rebel” group, including angry Beckett (JASON FLEMYNG), archer Marks (MACKENZIE CROOK), & uneducated Coteral (JAMIE FOREMAN)...
... A spy has learned the plans of Brian, sells his information to Paul, & the “King” then sends a group to try to forestall James’ gaining control of Rochester Castle [which Paul had previously been forced to turn back to the control of Charles, the Archbishop]...
... Nominally in charge of the castle is an old nobleman [Constable] named Cornhill (= Reginald de Cornhill = DEREK JACOBI). He’d been involved in a marriage-of-convenience with a much younger woman, beautiful Lady Isabel (KATE MARA)...
... Once in the castle, the rebels -- led militarily by great warrior James -- fight the “advance” group of Danish mercenaries sent by Paul, & (as usual for the time), it’s a massively BLOODY fight before the Danes are beaten...
... James tries to teach Aneurin how to fight with a sword, & he works to strengthen the defenses of the castle-- the courtyard with its strong walls & lowered gate, and the tall Towers known as the “Keep” section...
... In the movie, there are only like 20 people who are inside trying to defend Rochester Castle [tho, historically, there were actually like 100] against the hired army of PAUL which had like 1000 or so people...
... A number of BATTLES are initiated by Paul’s forces, using a series of CATAPULTS to toss rocks & FIRE at the castle, LADDERS to try to climb up the walls, etc. The castle defenders use ARROWS, hot oil, SWORDS, etc. to try to fight BACK...
... There’s actually lots of historical ACCURACY to a lot of the battle plans & scenes of how forces tried to lay SIEGE to a castle in those times...
... Will James & his heavily outnumbered forces be able to hold BACK Paul’s army?...
... Will James be able to successfully wrestle with his desire to be with beautiful seductive Kate (who’s also willing to fight the invaders physically)?...
... Will Aneurin learn how to use his SWORD so as to stay alive in the conflict?...
... Will Paul succeed in constructing a SIEGE TOWER to gain control of the castle, or will James find a way to stop it with his own engineering idea?...
... Will Paul be “magnanimous” when his forces capture Brian [as shown below], or will he be his usual SADISTIC self in trying to get him to get his rebels to give up?...
... Will Paul’s plan go well in trying to BLOW-UP the “Keep” Tower where most of the rebels congregate?...
... Will Archbishop Charles be able to bring over the forces of French king LOUIS to try to STOP John & his forces, &, will it be in “TIME” to help those holed-up in the Keep of Rochester Castle?...
... I LIKE historical dramas, & this Welsh production has an unusual level of ACCURACY to its basic story (including what happens to “King John” / Paul in the “end” of the story)...
... For some unknown reason, the makers of the film made what to me is a very unfortunate choice to use a promotional “tagline” something like, “Heavy Metal meets Medieval Times”-- which made a friend of mine wonder, is this meant to be a COMEDY “costume” drama with rock music or the like?...
... It has NOTHING to do with “heavy metal” music, & it’s assuredly NO “comedy”!...
... As indicated by another tagline the film uses, it’s a situation of, “BLOOD. Will. Run”...
... It’s a sadly ACCURATE portrayal of the way medieval times had a great disregard for the RIGHTS of the “common man” & anyone else that the self-appointed rulers didn’t like...
... There’s a heartbreaking CRUELTY & VICIOUSNESS exhibited by those in “power”, with a depressing degree of blood-letting & casual severance of LIMBS & LIVES...
... PAUL GIAMATTI does his usual impressive work at playing an infuriated megalomaniac, & the other main actors are ALSO quite effective in their roles...
... While I could have done “without” all the graphic blood-letting & “quick-cuts” (& stabs & gouges the like), I still liked the basic action-filled STORY it told + its special effects, & thus I’m rating this at 7.5 out of 10 stars...
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