Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2012

King James (a miscast Paul Giamatti) did not quietly fade away after he signed the Magna Carta in 1215, but instead raised an army of Danish mercenaries to cruelly punish the barons who forced him to do so. Story focuses on a Seven Samurai defense of the strategic Rochester Castle in Kent. Its historical accuracy and good cast (Brian Cox, Derek Jacobi, Jason Flemyng, James Purefoy) make it watchable, but the focus is so determinedly on the gory brutality of battle (Monty Python meets Braveheart?) that its appeal will be limited to the fanboys who frequent those odd medieval-trappings shops at the mall.