6/23/2023 0 Comments Most violent medieval movies![]() ![]() Murnau’s “Nosferatu” scaring up audiences in 1922, followed by the countless iterations that came in its shadow. “Medieval” is in theaters now.The vampire genre is nearly as old as cinema itself, with F.W. Toss in some good underlying themes of faith, heroism, and sacrifice, and you have a movie that may be garden-variety, but its entertaining nonetheless. Still, amid the beards, blood, and grime is a solid blend of history and genre. We’re supposed to believe a relationship sparks, but there’s hardly any warmth between them. It really stands out in the later scenes with Jan and Katherine. But it’s hard to find any other emotions in Foster’s performance. He’s haunted by dreams of a past trauma, and he’s troubled by the consequences his actions have on others. But it’s hard to mine any feeling out of Foster’s character. I get stoicism and how it’s meant to play in a story like this one. Part of the problem may be the film’s stone-faced protagonist. So you could say its glaringly generic title is fitting. It’s as if it’s missing that one ingredient that would set it apart from the countless other action period pieces of its kind. It’s not bad by any stretch, it simply lacks distinction. Even with its compelling setting and story arc, “Medieval” never quite kicks into a higher gear. Yet while the movie looks great, feels authentic, and is punctuated by some intense well-shot action, it feels like there’s something missing. And even more money is visible in the locations, costumes, and production design which vividly recreates this harsh and relentless period. Much of the film’s hefty budget can been seen in the combat which is often fierce and quite brutal. And while Sigismund’s brute-for-hire Torak (Roland Møller) savagely combs the countryside in search of Jan, he gives the naive Lady Katherine a first-hand look at her future husband’s cruelty.Īside from its healthy buffet of political posturing, double-dealing, and betrayal, the movie offers a steady diet of medieval hack-and-slash violence. But the act sets off a bloody chain of events with consequences he never anticipated. Against his better judgement, Jan agrees. ![]() She’s the fiancé of a powerful and devious nobleman, Lord Rosenberg (Til Schweiger) who’s in cahoots with Sigismund. Things heat up when Lord Boresh, a Wenceslaus loyalist, approaches Jan and his men about kidnapping Lady Katherine (Sophie Lowe). But Jan soon finds himself caught in a chess match between two feuding monarchs, the Bohemian King Wenceslaus IV (Karl Roden) and his ambitious half-brother King Sigismund of Hungary (Matthew Goode). Jan and his band of loyal mercenaries do an assortment of odd (and aggressively violent) jobs for well-paying dignitaries including the entirely fictional Lord Boresh (Michael Caine). It’s in this political and hierarchical powder keg that we meet Jan Žižka, who Foster plays as the proverbial stoic man of few words. And both sides are determined to have their say on who is chosen as the next emperor. But the Catholic Church is bitterly divided into two factions, each under the leadership of a rival pope. It’s believed that only the coronation of a new Holy Roman Emperor can restore the rule of law. It’s a time of war, plague, and famine as powerful men with their lusts for sovereignty lead a land ruled by lawlessness and oppression. Jákl opens his film in 1402 with Europe already plunged into chaos. ![]()
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