Ironclad

A first-class medieval knock-off, which was spoiled only by occasional flashes of TV quality film making. James Purefoy, after his portrayal of Solomon Kane, once again delighted, and the excellent Brian Cox or Paul Giamatti did as well. From a simple fable on the theme of "The king is a bastard, but if we defend this castle, he might go to hell", thanks to a pleasant script giving each character room to become memorable, it turned out to be a very successful story that does not get boring despite the two-hour runtime. The battles are incredibly rough (cutting a barbarian in half with a two-handed sword, for example) and there is plenty of blood, but nothing is just for effect, because everything has its place. Just like the romantic storyline. In addition to the director, praise must also go to Lorne Balfe's good music. A strong four stars.__P.S. During the scene where the barbarian army besieging the castle started to "build something", and that "something" was made of wood, it was tall and it was supposed to help conquer the castle, I started laughing. But it was the memory of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. (15/11/2011)

Ironclad is gritty medieval action at its best. Sure, the story might not be the most profound, but I really enjoyed it. I do wonder how much the film cost to make because the action sequences, while not as polished as they could’ve been, were still pretty engaging and fun to watch. The cast was solid, with Vladimir Kulich standing out as a great villain. I’ll admit, it took me a bit to fully get into the film at first, but once it picked up, it was action scene after action scene, and I was hooked. I wish there were more medieval movies like this one. (09/07/2012)

Outrageous carnage. I feel that after Solomon Kane, James Purefoy has devoted himself to the historical “off road” genre for life. That’s not bad, his hero has depth, he's not a fool like in the 2011 remake of Conan the Barbarian, a minimum vocabulary is not harmful at all, quite the opposite. The excellent chemistry between the lead actors is definitely worth mentioning. Well, it can be done without a million words. The action is okay (within the budget), there are several truly wholesome details like a person split in half, and an unusually grand and monumental music for a rather intimate affair with a British feeling (thumbs up). Paul Giamatti overacts and Kate Mara is charming (thumbs up as well). Perhaps a bit more flashy than effective, but in my opinion, it exploits everything that could be done within the genre. (12/11/2011)

In the last few years there’s been plenty of action films set in the middle ages (or in antiquity) and I can’t say I really enjoyed any of them. Dirty clowns swinging swords around are generally not my cup of tea. What I appreciate in Ironclad  is the uncompromising brutality of a wind up Paul Giamatti and the idea of setting most of the action in a besieged castle. I actually don’t know whether I want to give it thumbs up (3*) or down (2*), I just don’t care. But if you enjoy medieval battles, go for it. (15/07/2011)

Ironclad begins like with the open ending of Scott’s Robin Hood, even in the same vein, so the impression of a "direct sequel" in a low-budget guise is almost complete. Don't expect historical fidelity, but a tedious, bloody romp with cluttered editing. (18/07/2011)