Medieval fails to deliver on its full potential.
Watching Medieval, the new period battle-epic from director Petr Jákl, it's hard not to be struck by how neatly it slots into its commercial niche. There is an audience for historical action-adventure movies that see hardened warriors go at it with old-fashioned weaponry, an audience that tolerates a certain level of gory effects, tactical jargon, and broody pensiveness from a male lead.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY Based on the story of real-life Czech national hero and military legend Jan Žižka, played here by Ben Foster, Medieval opens with Europe on the precipice of chaos following the death of the Holy Roman Emperor. Only the Pope can crown a new one, and while the French play for power by electing their own Pope, Žižka and his employer, Lord Boresh , are working to secure their benevolent King Wenceslaus of Bohemia safe passage to Rome for this purpose.
On top of these script issues, Jákl crafts his film with grating self-importance. From an opening voiceover that starts by listing action-movie buzzwords to the oppressively bleak visual style throughout, Medieval seems to constantly tell its viewer how seriously they should take it, despite lacking the goods to justify such attention.
This movie's only real interest is its violence, and while some battle scenes provide bright spots, this aspect, too, fails to deliver on its full potential. Medieval makes use of a wide array of weapons to dispatch its characters, and there is some very strong effects work that this movie's audience will surely appreciate.
Medieval released exclusively in theaters on Friday, September 9. The film is 126 minutes long and is rated R for strong and grisly violent content throughout, and some nudity.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Peter Pan & Wendy Poster Reveals First Look At Updated Disney CharactersThe first PeterPanAndWendy poster has arrived, teasing the dreamlike nature of the upcoming Disney live-action adaptation.
Read more »
Review: 'Medieval' story of Czech folk hero suffers from identity crisisBen Foster stars as a Czech folk hero tasked with protecting a lady in the gory, muddled 'Medieval,' directed by Petr Jákl.
Read more »
Robots Better than Humans at Detecting Mental Wellbeing Issues in Children➡️ Robots can be better at detecting mental wellbeing issues in children than parent-reported or self-reported testing, say UK researchers. MedTwitter 🤖
Read more »
Movies in North Texas theaters on Sept. 9 and coming soonHistorical drama ‘Medieval’ leads this week’s lineup of new releases.
Read more »