Žižka was a brilliant tactician who was reportedly undefeated in battle, despite losing his eye(s). The script doesn't give him the gravitas that other aloof historical figures have received in movies like Braveheart or Spartacus. Foster is a gifted Method actor, but despite his simmering intensity, he seems miscast and borderline uncomfortable in this role (and not just because he's not Czech). But what director Petr Jákl, working from a story by his father that he co-wrote, doesn't do is provide an adequate or in-depth profile of the Czech legend the movie is about: Middle Ages war genius/strategist Jan Žižka. If all you want is something with Gladiator-meets- Braveheart-style movie violence, Medieval delivers an impressively bloated body count. ![]() This action-drama underwhelms as a historical drama and biographical film, but the over-the-top battle sequences make this a serviceable - if grisly - period action adventure. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails. Although the film (reportedly the most expensive Czech movie ever made) was directed and co-written by Czech filmmaker Petr Jákl, it's an international production, starring Ben Foster as Žižka, as well as Matthew Goode, Michael Caine, Sophie Lowe, and Til Schweiger. While viewers might learn a bit about the story's historical context, the movie highlights action/war violence over Žižka's biography. One scene shows a man in bed with his partially nude mistress after implied sex. Adult soldiers drink socially (from flasks, wineskins, goblets), and there's a bit of language (one "s-t," a couple uses of "damn," and some insult language). There are beheadings, eviscerations, amputations, and eye gouging, as well as impalements, threats to and the murder of a child, and battle sequences that show dozens of dead or severely injured bodies. ![]() ![]() It's bloody and gory in its many graphic scenes of warfare and torture, including depictions of and references to sexual violence and rape. Parents need to know that Medieval is an ultraviolent historical action-drama about legendary Czech war hero/strategist Jan Žižka.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |