Ironclad (2011)

Director: Jonathan English

Starring: James Purefoy, Brian Cox, Kate Mara, Derek Jacobi, Paul Giamatti, Charles Dance, Jason Flemyng, Jamie Foreman, Mackenzie Crook

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Heavy metal goes medieval

Plot: It is the year 1215 and the rebel barons of England have forced their despised King John to put his royal seal to the Magna Carta, a noble, seminal document that upheld the rights of free-men. Yet within months of pledging himself to the great charter, the King reneged on his word and assembled a mercenary army on the south coast of England with the intention of bringing the barons and the country back under his tyrannical rule. Barring his way stood the mighty Rochester castle, a place that would become the symbol of the rebel's momentous struggle for justice and freedom.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Probably not.

Did this hit the theaters? I wish I had seen it on the big screen. For the most part I dug it. It's gory as hell and any fan of great melee fighting needs to see this. Limbs are lost, people hacked in half, lots of blood. It's great. I love the cast and the performances are good (Giamatti plays it to the hilt) although I though Purefoy's character should have had more to do. AND GODDAMNIT! WHY DOES THERE ALMOST ALWAYS HAVE TO BE A LOVE INTEREST??? I hate that shit. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. This is the latter. When you have a picture like this you shouldn't toss in a love scene just to pander to get women to see your movie. Gee fucking whiz! The picture's already two hours long. Cut out the 10 or more minutes of that subplot and make this a leaner, better film. Damn it, not I'm pissed off again. Shit. I'm lowering this from a 7 to a 6.5.