Purely Joyful Movie!

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

This is masterful filmmaking by director John Walsh. It's beautifully shot, wonderfully acted and built around a moment of suspense Hitchcock would have been proud of. But Walsh's greatest masterstroke is his choice of subject matter. On the surface, King Henry VIII seems like a gossipy story that has been the most retold one of the 20th Century.But as the drama ­develops, the enormity of the ­situation hits you. The monarch had long ceased to wield political power, there was something very shaky about the monarchy. In this stylish film, King Henry VIII (TP McKenna) is an arrogant and dangerous but also vulnerable and susceptible to the tricks played by his own mind. Thanks in part to the ghost Queens played by Jean Marsh.This is on a very small intimate scale, but the claustrophobic sets, haunting music and refined direction make this one of the most tense costume dramas I have seen.

This is a fab little gem as the posters say. I didn't quite know what to expect as this isn't a thriller, nor is it a horror or for that matter much of a costume drama. What unfold here is almost a playlette but in a real location. TP McKenna is a powerful Henry despite being towards the end of his life and every inch the king. Nice to see a different take on the usual school history version of Henry and his wives. That said the wives do make an appearance but a the less said here the better save for spoilers. I liked this film and think that if you are in the right mood you will connect with it. For those willing to try something away from the bodice ripping TV movie versions of Henry (all gelled back hair and waxed chests) this makes for a pleasant change and at least has something to say. Shot on a shoe string over just a few weeks make the achievement all the more impressive. This film has certainly been through the wars, having been released in the late 90s to not much ado and then lost. The extras on the DVD reveal the fascinating story of the original camera negative and how this was the key to this HD remastered release which hits cinemas again some twenty years after its first bow.

Henry VIII is s tough nut to crack in terms of drama. Either it becomes a romantic soap opera or an epic of the David Lean proportions. Either way this can be a hard ear to connect with. John Walsh's film has got some balls. With a budget that would only buy a few costumes on a Hollywood film, he has woven a tale that's manages to engage and offer a new perspective on this most written about, talked about and most filmed monarch in history.The film is a hidden gem and so is the cast. Irish stage actor TP McKenna embodies Henry and acts the rest of the cast off the screen. That is until he meets his match in the 'form' of Jean Marsh, enough said here otherwise it's a spoiler. Get the film, have a look and then look at the costume dramas that are consuming our Sunday night TV. I want Walsh to have another crack at history, he's clear got the knack.

The part fact, part fiction description on the film's summary belies a humble truth, which is that John Walsh's film was a docu-drama at a time when the phrase was not in common use to describe this kind of historical retelling. Sure there have been numerous Henry VIII bio-pics but this is very much in the vein of the film The Downfall, cleverly confining the action and narrative to one night at the end of Henry VIII's life. Stellar performances form the late TP McKenna and the brilliant and chilling Jean Marsh. A calm camera approach and a script sparkling with good one liners, Monarch has much to recommend it. The fact that John Walsh went on to have a major career as on the UK's foremost documentary film makers after tackling this subject is no great surprise. Walsh's return to cinema last year was the documentary feature film ToryBoy The Movie. His eye for politics, scandal and what makes society tick have become trademarks. Challenging the perceptions of the issues that bind us and the world we surround ourselves with have become the heart beats of his work. Monarch is well worth rediscovering.