Set in the year 1215; just after Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood ended; following the defeat of the dastardly King John in a three-year long civil war that ravaged the entirety of England, and saw the Barons force the King to sign the Magna Carta (giving the monarch less power, and the people more), Ironclad tells the tale of a pivotal, yet little known, battle which shaped the course of English history (and essentially the history of the world) forever.
After his defeat, King John (Paul Giamatti, The Hangover Part 2) hired and army of Danish mercenaries and, with the unexpected blessing of the Pope went on a vengeful rampage across the country, hoping to kill all of the Barons who had forced his hand, and reclaim his former power; something which a small band of warriors were determined to stop.
Led by a war-weary Knight Templar named Thomas Marshall (James Purefoy, Rome); who fights to avenge the murder of his priest at the hands of John; and Baron Albany (Brian Cox, Manhunter); a man determined not to let a dictator such as John regain control; a small band of mercenaries aim to stop John before he can regain control of England, by seizing and holding one of the most strategically important locations in the country; Rochester Castle.
So with only a handful of mercenaries, and a dribble of castle guards loyal to the rebellion; that add up to a grand total of only twenty men; Marshall and Albany plan to not necessarily defeat, but hold out against, the entirety of the King’s army, and his Danish mercenaries, until the French (who are supposed to be coming to aid the war against the King) arrive and save the day; a plan that not only proves difficult because of the fact they’re severely outnumbered, but because of political events that delay the arrival of the French.
Ironclad therefore plays out like a feature length version of the Battle of Helm’s Deep (from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers); as a band of rough-and-ready warriors attempt to survive a siege against insurmountable odds; only Ironclad is clearly much more violent, and true to the way in which medieval warfare would have been fought (aside from a number of slightly OTT fake blood splatters that tinge the film’s first skirmish), with plenty of limbs being hacked off, siege engines coming into play, men being cleaved in half, and even pig fat being used as a surprisingly effective weapon, and what’s even more surprising, is that for anyone who doesn’t know the history, it plays out in just as tense a manner.
Even some of the characters feel like Lord of the Rings replicas; with the fictional Marshall (who’s excellently portrayed by James Purefoy; replicating the strong-and-silent-type persona he used so well in Solomon Kane) being an easy swap for Aragorn, an archer (played by The Office’s McKenzie Crook) acting like a carbon copy of Legolas (even down to mimicking some of his moves), and while Paul Giamatti’s John doesn’t easily make the same comparative jump, he’s basically just another pantomime villain that we’ve seen so many times before; with his role outside the castle walls being reduced to shouting, screaming, spitting lines at other characters, and generally getting in a bit of a huff (which seems almost effortless to Giamatti).
And it’s not just John that feels as if he’s been plucked from a panto, as the entirety of the plot, and the characters themselves, are so shallow that it begs belief; there’s not one well developed character here (everyone on screen, from the most minor supporting parts to major characters, are simple, under-developed, wooden rehashes of tired and tested stereotypes we’ve seen dozens of times before, and the glimmer of romance between Marshall and, 127 Hours star Kate Mara’s, Lady Isabel seems especially crowbarred in), and the plot is simple enough to be summed up in a line (‘20 men, in a castle, under siege’); but somehow none of that matters, because the real reason anyone watches a movie like Ironclad is for the action, and that, is simply brilliant.
From the onset of the first little tussle you can tell there’s going to be plenty of action, and plenty of gore, and the siege itself doesn’t disappoint; Ironclad is jam-packed with brutal action, stunning set-pieces, and a feel that’s much broader than its modest budget (having been made for just over a tenth of the cost of Robin Hood’s), yet still somehow lets the men feel cramped in their lonely castle, as they endure starvation, wave after wave of attackers, arrows, catapults, and other siege warfare designed to terrify and kill everyone of them; giving fans plenty to keep them interested, and satisfy their bloodlust, in between some well placed narration by Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), that helps speed along an otherwise stagnant plot.
In the end Ironclad is a film action fans, and particularly fans of movies featuring sieges and medieval warfare, are bound to love; sure there’s plenty of cheesy dialogue, wooden characters, and a wafer-thin plot, but in this context, with action this good, it works; it’s England’s Helm’s Deep, and a movie that’s actually far better, far more engaging, and far more fun, than the trailers made it look.
Picture:
What’ll hit you when watching Ironclad on Blu-ray is that unlike most modern releases, it’s presented in a 16:9 aspect ratio; which nicely fills any modern widescreen TV, yet somehow looks just a little ‘off’, largely due to the fact that the Blu-ray release appears to have been given the wrong transfer (it should be appearing in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio)*, and makes the film look just a little bit cramped.
Aside from the framing issues however (which may actually appeal to some fans who detest letterboxing), Ironclad actually looks pretty good on Blu-ray; sure it looks fairly subdued overall, has a few minor instances of artifacting and aliasing, and some probable DNR (evident mainly by the distinct lack of any grain during the majority of the picture), but the level of fine detail is stunning, textures are brilliantly rendered, and even the colour (though subdued) holds up pretty well, and helps craft some natural looking fleshtones.
So while there are a couple of issues, Ironclad’s video transfer generally looks as good as most modern movies (aside from massively budgeted Hollywood pictures, and a lot of Sony’s latest releases), but the overall enjoyment of the transfer will come down to preference; do you hate letterboxing enough to sacrifice the intended look of the film? or will you prefer to wait for a potential re-issue of the movie in its intended aspect ratio (realizing that day may never come)?
The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix awarded to Ironclad’s Blu-ray release suffers no such problems as it’s picture, containing consistent and realistic ambient effects, crisp and clear dialogue, and, most importantly, a rousing cacophony of effects; that are guaranteed to dazzle, confuse, and confound the senses of every viewer, as it fully immerses them in the battle scenes; with solid directionality, some powerful bass (which was suitably impressive, but could have been weightier in one or two instances), and a fair amount of volume, which should more than satisfy any fan of the genre.
Extras:
Where this disc is clearly lacking however, is in its selection of special features; which consist of nothing more than a number of brief interviews with the film’s cast, that don’t really offer up anything too interesting or memorable; being easily skippable, and not really worth the disc space they take up.
The Bottom Line:
Despite the problems with the sizing of the picture, Ironclad looks and sounds great on Blu-ray, and if you’re a fan of TV classics such as Sharpe, movie sieges such as Assault on Precinct 13, or historically based films with plenty of action that often muddle a great deal of the history their re-telling (such as The Patriot, Braveheart, Robin Hood, or Kingdom of Heaven), Ironclad will be right up your alley; as its cheesy dialogue, wooden characters, and blatant lack of plot, don’t matter in the slightest, when you get down to the action packed, gore heavy, siege, that chronicles a pivotal moment in British history, and really is England’s Helm’s Deep.
You can find the official Ironclad trailer here.
