Mostly, Medieval offers wall-to-wall action, which can grow tiresome after a while. A handful of rebels who help Žižka and his men register only because they are fighting for justice-to keep Rosenberg from taking their land. There is also not enough investment in the supporting characters to care if they live or die during the fight scenes. Goode plays King Sigismund with relish, and his exchanges with Lord Boresh, Lord Rosenberg, and King Wenceslas inject the film with some intrigue and verve. As King Sigismund, Matthew Goode, with dyed hair, is rather devious as he double-crosses folks as or after they help him achieve his goals. It is the villain of the piece who keeps Medieval most interesting. Their scenes together are more bland than compelling, filler between action scenes. They should be inspiring each other (and viewers) but only a poignant scene of Lady Katherine washing blood off her hands provides a decent bonding moment. Moreover, Foster has very little chemistry with Lowe. He is more brooding than impassioned even when he talks to his men about sacrifice. As they each save the other from harm, it is only a matter of time before they help the other see the reality of the political situation, and eventually kiss.īut Foster is miscast as Žižka (despite a slight resemblance to him). When Žižka sustains a head injury that blinds him in one eye, Lady Katherine treats his wound, using maggots she finds feeding off a dead rodent. As Torak and his men set up to wipe him out, Žižka creates a smoke screen, sets up a shield, and enables his men to kill rather than be killed. Director Petr Jákl lets Žižka do his thing, and one battle scene shows his ingenuity in the art of war. Medieval is not a biopic, which is perhaps to its credit. There are a few reflective moments, such as Žižka talking about God’s will, or a fever dream he has, later recounted to Lady Katherine, but these episodes do not provide much insight into Žižka. (So much for loyalty.) The story has Lady Katherine being protected by Žižka until she is recaptured by Torak (Roland Møller), only for there to be a series of additional retaliations, re-capturings, and reversals of fortune. Soon after, Lady Katherine is kidnapped attending church meanwhile her betrothed is finishing up in bed with a naked lady. It’s an intense, bloody sequence typical of the action scenes that form much of the film. Medieval opens with Žižka and his men fighting off assassins who try to ambush Lord Boresh’s safe passage. As such, Lord Boresh (Michael Caine) enlists Žižka to kidnap Lord Rosenberg’s fiancée, Lady Katherine (Sophie Lowe) to have some sway on who gains power. Influencing things is Lord Rosenberg (Til Schweiger), who is conspiring with Sigismund to get control of the throne (and land). After the death of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles IV, there is a battle for the crown between two brothers-the Czech King Wenceslas (Karel Roden), and the Hungarian King Sigismund (Matthew Goode). And they still may not really know much after seeing this ultra-violent historical drama which focuses on an episode in Žižka’s (Ben Foster) career that perhaps contains more fiction than truth.Īn early voiceover provides viewers with the necessary history. Starring Ben Foster, Sophie Lowe, Michael Caine, Til Schweiger, Matthew GoodeĪmerican audiences may not know the history of Jan Žižka, the undefeated-whoops, that’s a spoiler!-15th century Czech general who is the subject of Medieval.
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