Medieval (2022)

★ 6.9 2h 6m 533 votes IMDb
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The story of fifteenth century Czech icon and warlord, Jan Zizka, who defeated armies of the Teutonic Order and the Holy Roman Empire.

Medieval

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Cast

Ben Foster
Ben Foster as Jan Žižka Age 45 · Boston, Massachusetts, USA Benjamin A. Foster (born October 29, 1980) is an American actor. His films include The Punisher (2004), X-Men: The Last Stand and Alpha Dog (both 2006), 30 Days of Night (2007), The Messenger and Pand...
Sophie Lowe
Sophie Lowe as Kateřina Age 35 · Halifax, Yorkshire, England Sophie Lowe is an English-born Australian actress and singer-songwriter. She appeared in the films Beautiful Kate, After the Dark, Adore, and Road Kill, and starred in the television series The Slap,...
Michael Caine
Michael Caine as Lord Boreš Age 93 · Rotherhithe, London, England, UK Sir Michael Caine CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Jr.; 14 March 1933) is a retired English actor. Known for his distinctive South London accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career...
Roland Møller
Roland Møller as Torak Age 53 · Odense, Denmark Roland Møller is a Danish actor. He won the Bodil Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Land of Mine, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Nordvest. He has appeared in high-profile films like...
Magnus Samuelsson
Magnus Samuelsson as Lars Age 56 · Linköping; Sweden Magnus Samuelsson (born December 21, 1969), is a Swedish actor, former strongman and winner of the 1998 World's Strongest Man contest in Morocco. The son of a former Swedish arm wrestling champion, he...
Til Schweiger
Til Schweiger as Rožmberk Age 62 · Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany Tilman Valentin "Til" Schweiger (born December 19, 1963) is a German actor, director, and producer. He is one of Germany’s most successful filmmakers. Since 1968, when the FFA started counting, no oth...

Audience Reviews

jw 5/10 Nov 12, 2022
Medieval? Mediocre.

There is a grand tale to be told about the historic Jan Žižka, his times and all that goes with it - the social, religious, political atmosphere, the power-play, the backstabbing, the wars.

And parts of this tale have been told well.

But not in this movie. It has good actors, wonderful locations, competent crew, and the biggest budget a Czech movie ever had so far - but it fails. The overall dramaturgy, the pacing, the direction and even the cut fail. This movie has many troubles, and the script is at the core of them.

The start is promising - it introduces us into the situation, where no-one is "good"; Zizka and his mercenaries are for hire, and who is your enemy today can be your comrade tomorrow. The powerful keep changing sides, nothing is certain, except for the low-born will be suffering either way.

But where to go from here? There could have been a wild romp through many of the stations of Zizka's life. Or it could have been a character study, how Zizka came to be the Czech national hero he is. But the movie fails to do that, too - it also burdens us with an unnecessary (and most likely a-historical) love story, and draws out things for long, long, long.
The battles appear fierce, close up, bloody; if you don't look close, it gives the rough impression of good fighting scenes.

Too many cliches, too many wide-eyed pained looks from the good lady, and TOO MUCH TIME WASTED.

This bit could've been told in a quarter of the time, without skipping anything - and we'd get to see much more of the Czech history (plus more battles, intrigues, and if unavoidable, also love stories).

**TL;DR: A waste of talent, money, and time.** No need to waste yours, unless you have an lazy time to while away.


PS: The few token PoC they have to squeeze in these days have been cast as Cumars, plus some vaguely asian-mongolian looking extras. The actual Cumars were from Turkey, but fair-skinned and -haired, and known (as well named) for this aspect of their appearance. But mooks are mooks, right?

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