J. Munyon—September 22, 2011
"Ironclad" is based around Rochester Castle in 13th Century England, where a battle of wills take place between a few barons of Great Britain and the megalomaniac, despotic King John. The movie is 2 hours long, was released in 2011, and stars the following actresses and actors . . . . James Purefoy in the role of Thomas Marshal, a Templar Knight in 13th century Great Britain; also starred in "Resident Evil," "Solomon Kane," "A Knight's Tale," a TV series called "Camelot," a TV series called "Rome," and a TV series called "Philanthropist." Brian Cox is cast as Albany, a strong and principled man (also starred in "Frasier" as Daphne's father, "Borne Identity," "Troy," "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," a TV series called "Kings," "Braveheart," and a 1983 TV version of "King Lear." Kate Mara portrays the character Isabel, the young hot wife of a much older Baron; also appeared in "Iron Man 2," the TV series "Entourage," "Transsiberian," a TV series called "24," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "CSI: Miami," "Boston Public," "Nip/Tuck," and "Law & Order." Derek Jacobi is the Baron Cornhill, who owns the castle in "Ironclad." As an actor, Derek has been knighted in Danish and English orders both, and is considered to be one of the more preeminent British classical thespians of the post Olivier generation (Olivier also had two knighthoods bestowed). Derek Jacobi has also appeared in "Gladiator," "There Be Dragons," "The King's Speech," "Henry V," "The Golden Compass," the TV series "Doctor Who," a TV movie "Inquisition," a TV mini-series "The Jury," on "Frasier" where he lampoons himself as a bumbling old actor in a one man Shakespeare theater performance that clearly bombs, also appeared in "Jason and the Argonauts," "Hamlet," a TV mini-series "The Civil War," and is the narrator for several films including "The Secret of NIMH" as Nicodemus. Paul Giamatti is cast as King John, a despotic mad man at the end of his reign and desperate enough to employ mercenaries under false pretenses to get back his personal freedoms lost to the Magna Charter. He has also appeared in "Saving Private Ryan," a TV series "John Adams," "The Illusionist," "Cinderella Man," a TV movie "The Pentagon Papers," and "Donnie Brasco." Charles Dance portrays Archbishop Langdon, during a time of power for the church. Also known for his roles in "Alien 3," "Gosford Park," "Last Action Hero," "There Be Dragons," a TV series "Trinity," a TV series "Merlin," a TV mini-series "Bleak House," a TV movie "Henry VIII," and a TV movie 1990 version of "The Phantom of the Opera." Jason Flemyng plays as Becket. Also known for "Lock, Stock and Tow Smoking Barrels," "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," "Snatch," "Clash of the Titans," "Solomon Kane," "The Quatermass Experiment," "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen," "The Red Violin," "Rob Roy," and a TV series "Doctor Finlay." Jamie Foreman is Coteral. Also known for "Sleepy Hollow," "Saving Grace," "Elizabeth," a TV series "Doctor Who," "Layer Cake," a TV Series "Rescue Me," a TV series "The House of Eliott," and a TV series "Dempsey and Makepeace." Mackenzie Crook in the role of Marks, another in the team of fearsome mercenaries - as an archer who never wastes an arrow. Also known for "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," "Finding Neverland," a TV series "Accused," a TV series "Demons," "The Brothers Grimm," a TV series "Merlin," "The Merchant of Venice," the TV series "The Office," a TV series "Skins," and "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll." Rhys Parry Jones in the role of Wulfstan. Not as renown as the rest of the "Ironclad" cast, but still has a dozen or so titles to his credit. Aneurin Barnard plays the role of Guy, the young protégé who hopes to make a difference. He has about 14 or so titles of movies, films, TV series, and short presentations that he has been part of, such as the TV series "Y Pris." Vladimir Kulich is Tiberius, a muscle bound Viking looking leader of the army on the side for King John. Vladimir was born in Czechoslovakia, and speaks four languages fluently. He is also known for his roles in such works as "The 13th Warrior," "Smokin' Aces," "Firestorm," the TV series "The Beast," the TV series "Highlander," "Red Scorpion 2," the TV series "MacGyver," and a TV series "Cobra." David Melville is Baron Darnay. Also known for "Hamlet," "Letters from the Big Man," "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," and for his work as a talented musician. Annabelle Apsion plays the part of Maddy. Also known for "From Hell," a TV series "Shameless," "Goodnight Mister Tom," "The War Zone," a TV series "The Bill," a TV series "Outlaws," a TV movie "Darwin's Daughter," a TV series "Coronation Street," a TV series "Micawber," a TV series "My Good Friend," a TV series "Soldier Soldier," and over 3 dozen other titles. Steffan Rhodri as the character Cooper. Also known for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" "Submarine," Ali G Indahouse," a TV series "Doctors," a TV series "Gavin & Stacey," and over a dozen other titles. In other words, just a bunch of nobodies who know nothing about acting, and have no idea how to perform with enough enthusiasm to entertain. Psyche !! The movie is rated "R" and I only saw one hooter that wasn't an owl. Other than that, the rating is for violence primarily, and a little bit of vulgar language. The language is less vulgar than your Jr Hi School kid hears on a daily basis, and the gore isn't as severe as I'd hoped for since that is the biggest claim of the promoters of this film. There is a realism to this film though, and you get a sense of the crude and harsh conditions that time period had - and what battle strategies desperate men plied against each other. There are some brutal sequences of torture and dismembering in "Ironclad," but the suggestive themes of sex and passion are left to the imagination. If all the film wanted to do is show horror and gritty violence, then it should have dismemberment including sodomizing beheaded throats, and body parts used as phallic substitutes in unwilling participant's body orifices, as well as broadswords impaling from crotch to crown both male and female combatants. There should be some pitchforks, lance through the eye out the back of the head type stuff, and some better attempts to portray rotting leprosy. But "Ironclad" does the best they can, and still get by the censorship in America. Otherwise, it would be deemed a foreign film only, and would cost three times as much, not to mention only play on a high tech DVD player meant for outside the U.S. and Canada based movies. As far as American censorship goes, I suppose "Ironclad" is fairly decent for a medieval violent history chronicle allegedly based upon true events. There will be blood. Read more
