Dmitri Korobkin’s Iron Lord (2010) – or Yaroslav. Tysyachu let nazad in its native Russian – is just one of many recent historical epics to have been released into an extremely saturated, straight-to-DVD market this year, and aside from some impressive camerawork, crisp editing, and the accompaniment of a well plotted soundscape, Iron Lord fails to deliver on its promise of high octane action.
In the midst of Russia during the year 1010, Russian Prince Yaroslav (Aleksandr Ivashkevich) rules the kingdoms to the North of Kiev with an iron fist, conquering new lands and gathering taxes for his father, Grand Prince Vladimir. However, keeping rule during such bloody times is a constant battle as hordes of Barbarians ransack local settlements to enslave those fit for sale. Yaroslav faces the unenviable mission of restoring peace to the region in an attempt to ultimately reinforce his power over it.
The opening of Iron Lord is accompanied by a confusing prologue that sets in motion an overly complicated plot which does nothing but establish unnecessary confusion. Whether this is due to a poor translation from Russian to English or the result of defective writing, this introduction fails to serve its purpose and actually obscures the film’s story.