a5c7b9f00b 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&#39;s momentous struggle for justice and freedom. King John Lackland reneges in 1215, the year the barons force him to sign to Magna Carta, on its parliamentary terms to resume his tyrannical misrule, and raised an army of pagan mercenaries to smash those barons who dare resist again. William d&#39;Aubigny&#39;s warrior band, including knight Templar Thomas Marshal and his squire Guy, decides to make a stand in Rochester, a strategic castle to bar the road to London, so they force its lord, baron Reginald de Cornhill, to side with them after eliminating the Danish watchdogs. Captain Tiberius&#39;s mercenary band fails for months to make their numeric superiority count during a bloody siege, over which John presides personally, eager to take the castle before French and/or domestic rebel reinforcements may arrive. Baron Reginald&#39;s wife Isabel regrets their arranged marriage, enough to nearly-openly lust for handsome crusade veteran Thomas, who however takes his order vows seriously. Definitely shot in a Ridley Scott fashion this is an effective medieval pot-boiler with some moral vision and lots and lots of gruesome full-on combat scenes - without a doubt some of the more bone-crunching, blood squelching fights of recent memory.<br/><br/>Is a great movie? No. It never quite delivers on its promise, and though extremely competent it just can&#39;t quite produce that true magic that better films can. It is, however, a highly competent and interesting historical drama. I have some quibbles with costuming etc; but that kind of goes with the territory.<br/><br/>All in all, this is a full-on medieval siege account of the Siege of Rochester -it is well made is most respects and if medieval battles are your thing then you&#39;ll be into it. Bloody version based on historical events with overwhelming battles and great production values with James Purefoythe fictional Templar knight Thomas Marshall , leader of a motley crew of tough , battle-hardened warriors/underdogs who try to defend a castle besieged by the army of the blood-crazed King John . In 13th-century England, some of the most important barons engaged in open rebellion against the King of England ,they have forced their cruel King John (Paul Giamatti who filmed his role in 7 days) to put his royal seal to the Magna Carta in the year 1215 . Magna Carta was the first document forced onto an English King by a group of his subjects, the feudal barons, in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their privileges .In return for King John&#39;s submission to his papal and universal authority, Innocent III declared the Magna Carta annulled, though many English Barons did not accept this action. Yet within months of pledging himself to the great charter , the King reneged on his word and assembled a mercenary army formed by Danish warriors (led by Vladimir Kulich in a similar character to The 13º warrior) on the south coast of England with the intention of bringing the barons and the country back under his despotic rule . As a small group of Knights (Brian Cox , Jason Flemyng , Jamie Foreman , Mackenzie Crook) commanded by Marshal (James Purefoy) fight to defend Rochester Castle against the nasty King John . Barring his way stood the mighty Rochester castle whose owner was the Baron Cornhill (Derek Jacobi married to Kate Mara) , a place that would turn the symbol of the rebel&#39;s momentous fight for honor and freedom .<br/><br/>The movie has great action sequences well staged with stylish and vitality , thrills , a little bit of romance and is pretty entertaining . Although is a little revisionist about characters , history and time when is developed the action in a dirty , gritty Middle Age . As the movie makes a big deal out of the supposedly deathly rivalry between John and the Templars , there wasn&#39;t one , the actual John awarded the Templars special privileges , including exemption from all taxation and extraordinary protection of their ownerships and in 1215, when this movie is set , the Templars let John use their headquarters , the New Temple in London,a treasury . King John stayed there often, and stored the crown jewels and his top-secret documents there ,¨Ironclad¨ has this entirely wrong . Stunning battles scenes illuminate the full-blown feats with a plethora of engaging action set pieces on the combats in which the heads and limbs are slice off here and there . Casting is frankly excellent . Special mention to treacherous , despised king John magnetically performed by Paul Giamattian evil and crazed ruler in a sensationalistic interpretation .Despite some critics&#39; complete and utter distaste for the film , I found it entertaining , well-acted, and fast-paced . There are great action sequences including the battle against an impressive fortress and the final confrontation at the climax of the film . Impeccable and evocative cinematography by David Eggby . Magnificent and thrilling musical score by Lorne Balfe . In production a sequel also directed by Jonathan English (Minotaur) and Steven McDool who penned the story which will center on one of the few survivors of the Great Siege of Rochester Castle who is now fighting to protect his family&#39;s estate from fierce Celtic raiders .<br/><br/>The picture deals with historical facts about John Lackland who was king of England from 1199 to 1216. Few monarchs have been subject to such appalling publicityJohn . Although by no means lovable , he was an able administrator and spent more time in England than his predecessor and elder brother Richard I but he was jailed by Leopold of Austria, returning from Crusades. Being dead king Henry II , then Richard Lionheart was crowned until the third crusade which was crowned John with no Land . The English domain over France will cause length conflict known the hundred years wars(1339-1453). Some barons began to conspire against King John in 1209 and 1212 ; promises made to the northern barons and John&#39;s submission to universal rule of the papacy in 1213 delayed a French invasion . Over the course of his reign a combination of higher taxes, unsuccessful wars that resulted in the loss of English barons&#39; titled possessions in Normandy following the Battle of Bouvines (1214), and an ongoing conflict with the Pope Innocent III had made King John unpopular with many of his baron s. The 1215 charter , a seminal document that upheld the rights of free-men , required tyrannical King John of England to proclaim certain liberties , and accept that his will was not arbitrary, for example by explicitly accepting that no &quot;freeman&quot; (in the sense of non-serf) could be punished except through the law of the land, a right which is still in existence today. By making John such an unrepentant freedom-opposing monster, Ironclad denies itself any moral thorniness.
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