It's 1215 England, incompetent ruthless tyrannical King John (Paul Giamatti) has ruled for 16 years. After 3 years of rebellion, he is forced to sign the Magna Carta by the rebels and the Knights Templar. As the rebels disperse, King John gets a new force of Danish mercenaries. He tries to retake England and take revenge. First he must capture the Norman castle at Rochester. Thomas Marshal (James Purefoy) and Baron William d'Aubigny (Brian Cox) lead a small group of Knights Templar as well as Baron Reginald de Cornhill (Derek Jacobi) who rule the castle and his men. Lady Isabel (Kate Mara) is Cornhill's wife. The small ragtag band of fighters hold off against massive odds.
There isn't much setup to start, but there is a history lesson to read through. This is basically one long siege movie. There are blood splattering action and CGI battles. It's sword swinging muddy mess. In between battles, there is some romantic developments between Kate Mara and James Purefoy. The characters aren't really that compelling. The most disappointing has to be Paul Giamatti. He needs to be more incompetent and more tyrannical. Also the romance seems out of place. However there are some good battle action and I do like the movie tackling little known history.
There isn't much setup to start, but there is a history lesson to read through. This is basically one long siege movie. There are blood splattering action and CGI battles. It's sword swinging muddy mess. In between battles, there is some romantic developments between Kate Mara and James Purefoy. The characters aren't really that compelling. The most disappointing has to be Paul Giamatti. He needs to be more incompetent and more tyrannical. Also the romance seems out of place. However there are some good battle action and I do like the movie tackling little known history.