It's difficult not to be impressed by how perfectly Petr Jákl's latest period battle-epic, Medieval, fits into its market. There is a market for historical action-adventure films that feature seasoned warriors fighting with antiquated weapons; this market can take a certain amount of grisly effects, tactical jargon, and a male lead who is broody and melancholy. Depending on the budget and the stars involved, this genre has varying degrees of prestige, with many on the upper end aspire to the Oscars grandeur of films like Braveheart and Gladiator. The latter Ridley Scott film nevertheless feels like a clear touchstone, suggesting a comparison that does not turn out to be complimentary. Medieval occupies a midway ground and has no such goals.
Ben Foster portrays Jan ika, a real-life Czech national hero and military legend, in the historical drama Medieval, which begins with europe on the verge of anarchy following the death of the Holy Roman Emperor. Ika and his employer, Lord Boresh (Michael Caine), are striving to ensure their kindly king Wenceslaus of Bohemia (Karel Roden) safe transit to Rome in order to crown a new Pope while the French vie for power by electing their own. They are opposed vehemently by Wenceslaus' cunning half-brother king Sigismund of hungary (Matthew Goode) and Lord Rosenberg (Til Schweiger), a wealthy noble with his sights set on the Bohemian throne.
Medieval had the opportunity to combine its action set-pieces with some high-caliber intrigue thanks to its numerous moving parts and Catherine's role as the political pawn everyone wants but no one can afford to risk. Unfortunately, it depends too much on exposition to build motives and alliances, content to just state each character's objective and let that serve as their defining characteristic rather than revealing the character's identity and motivating factors. This essentially leaves it up to the performers to bring depth to their parts, and despite having talent on board, their effectiveness seems to be directly correlated with the amount of screen time they get.
The movie is never more interesting than when each step of Ika's strategy is progressively revealed, and there is an entire sequence midway through that uses his most well-known military tactic. The battles, though, suffer from a lack of stakes and some choppy editing making it challenging to properly appreciate the fight choreography. It's not that they hold back on the killing and maiming; rather, the spectator is generally uninterested in the characters, thus it doesn't matter if they die or get hurt. Medieval's problems combine, undermining any strong qualities it does have and leaving little cause to recommend it, unlike movies that are a push-and-pull of positive and negative aspects.
Ben Foster portrays Jan ika, a real-life Czech national hero and military legend, in the historical drama Medieval, which begins with europe on the verge of anarchy following the death of the Holy Roman Emperor. Ika and his employer, Lord Boresh (Michael Caine), are striving to ensure their kindly king Wenceslaus of Bohemia (Karel Roden) safe transit to Rome in order to crown a new Pope while the French vie for power by electing their own. They are opposed vehemently by Wenceslaus' cunning half-brother king Sigismund of hungary (Matthew Goode) and Lord Rosenberg (Til Schweiger), a wealthy noble with his sights set on the Bohemian throne.
Medieval had the opportunity to combine its action set-pieces with some high-caliber intrigue thanks to its numerous moving parts and Catherine's role as the political pawn everyone wants but no one can afford to risk. Unfortunately, it depends too much on exposition to build motives and alliances, content to just state each character's objective and let that serve as their defining characteristic rather than revealing the character's identity and motivating factors. This essentially leaves it up to the performers to bring depth to their parts, and despite having talent on board, their effectiveness seems to be directly correlated with the amount of screen time they get.
The movie is never more interesting than when each step of Ika's strategy is progressively revealed, and there is an entire sequence midway through that uses his most well-known military tactic. The battles, though, suffer from a lack of stakes and some choppy editing making it challenging to properly appreciate the fight choreography. It's not that they hold back on the killing and maiming; rather, the spectator is generally uninterested in the characters, thus it doesn't matter if they die or get hurt. Medieval's problems combine, undermining any strong qualities it does have and leaving little cause to recommend it, unlike movies that are a push-and-pull of positive and negative aspects.
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