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Ironclad

Ironclad (2011)

tomatometer

17

Average Rating: 4.7/10
Critic Reviews: 12
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 10

No consensus yet.

audience

42

liked it
Average Rating: 3.1/5
User Ratings: 8,976

My Rating

Movie Info

A ragtag group of Knights Templar hold out for months against the hard-fought siege of Rochester Castle in the thirteenth Century. Set in the time of King John's signing of the Magna Carta treaty, the group struggles against the King to defend the freedom of their country. "Judging from James Purefoy's bloody sword, the movie Ironclad is going to be a bloody feast! Well at least it will be somewhat historically accurate because the Siege of Rochester Castle was a damn bloody mess, a really

R, 2 hr. 38 min.

Action & Adventure

Jonathan English, Erick Kastel

Jul 26, 2011

Arc Entertainment

Ironclad Trailer & Photos

More Photos (7)
More Trailers and Videos (2)

Cast

Critic Reviews for Ironclad

All Critics (57) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (26) | Rotten (32) | DVD (3)

Ironclad is as weighed-down as it sounds.

July 8, 2011 Full Review Source: Detroit News | Comments (2)
Tom Long
Detroit News
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This English sword-battle drama is a mess. But there's a violent simplicity and a lack of pretentiousness that's refreshing.

July 8, 2011 Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | Comment
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The problem is that the movie is only swords and stage blood. The suits of armor are all empty.

July 8, 2011 Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger | Comment
Stephen Whitty
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The loud, closely photographed limb-hacking becomes as monotonous as the movie's unrelentingly gray palette.

July 8, 2011 Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | Comment
Robert Abele
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic IconTop Critic

A gore-filled guilty pleasure...

July 8, 2011 Full Review Source: New York Post | Comment
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The core fan base of this English sword battle drama will pay for the boundary-pushing blood and gore. Why bore them with things like plot and context and production values?

July 7, 2011 Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | Comment
Peter Hartlaub
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Terrific action spectacle and a great tattered and beaten performance from Paul Giamatti, but the film is largely lifeless and dull.

January 29, 2012 Full Review Source: IGN DVD | Comment
R. L. Shaffer
IGN DVD

Most of the movie is so bland and has such a lack of passion for characters or story that it makes you wonder why anyone cared enough to make it.

July 22, 2011 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine | Comment
Sean Gandert
Paste Magazine

James Purefoy's Marshal is still bound by his Templar oaths, but will he be able to preserve his vow of chastity when Kate Mara's lady of the castle starts fondling his great big Templar sword?

July 18, 2011 Full Review Source: Movie Talk | Comment (1)
Jason Best
Movie Talk

What saves the flick is Paul Giamatti's John, played as a petulant, damaged man born in a world where he wields the power of a god and inevitably rages as that power is snatched away.

July 14, 2011 Full Review Source: Digital Spy | Comment
Mayer Nissim
Digital Spy

Good gravy, if you're looking for satisfyingly bloody swordplay, look no further.

July 11, 2011 Full Review Source: Capital Times (Madison, WI) | Comment
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)

Like Takashii Miike's 13 Assassins, Ironclad takes a familiar genre-the historical action picture-and colors it blood-red.

July 8, 2011 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment
Maitland McDonagh
Film Journal International

Casting is almost uniformly first rate with Cox, Purefoy and the always brilliant Giamatti providing noteworthy standouts.

July 8, 2011 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | Comment
Wade Major
Boxoffice Magazine

As a critic who complains about painless and brainless action movies, I hoist a glass of mead to the men and maidens of "Ironclad."

July 8, 2011 Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Comment
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A certain bloody matinee charm to it, if your idea of charm is brutally graphic combat scenes and well-known faces hamming it up in the downtime between.

July 7, 2011 Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | Comment
Erik Childress
eFilmCritic.com

Through it all, Paul Giamatti spits bilious fury as a ruthless king with a mile-wide mean streak and an army of Danish mercenaries. What's not to like?

July 7, 2011 Full Review Source: Seattle Times | Comment
Jeff Shannon
Seattle Times
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Ironclad

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Whether it comes down to the nasty gory scenes or the mediocre editing and cheesy narrative and dialogue, "Ironclad"'s an unkempt, sloppy movie. The introduction is typical "Lord of the Rings"-esque bravado with narration over scroll-looking stationary illustrations that explain the backdrop of the setting, time, and

March 13, 2012
Albert Kim
Albert Kim

Super Reviewer

I thought that this was pretty good. Of course, I am a fan of this genre of movies, AND a Paul Giamatti fan. He was fantastic as hateful, mean King John. Yes, this was very bloody, gorey, and etc. etc...but I was most certainly never bored. The cast was very entertaining, as well. I'm not really sure what so many

September 9, 2011
itsjustme2004
Cynthia S.

Super Reviewer

Ironclad Quotes

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    1. King John: This castle belongs to me!
    – Submitted by Chris P (10 months ago)
    1. King John: England is mine.
    – Submitted by Chris P (10 months ago)

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Foreign Titles

  • Le Sang des templiers (FR)
  • Templario (ES)
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