Medieval

Medieval
Starring Ben Foster, Sophie Lowe, William Moseley, Michael Caine
Directed by Petr Jakl

Everyone has heard the story of William Wallace, thanks to the Oscar-winning directing talent of Mel Gibson, even if the story wasn't entirely historically accurate. Throughout history there's numerous stories of  one man who defies a nation and changes the hearts and the minds of those around him through relentlessly pursuing what is right and just, usually culminating in epic battles - such as the epic battle of the 300 Spartans. Still, there's a lot more stories to be told, and one of them is the story of Czech military commander Jan Zizka - a man who famously never lost a battle. While "Medieval" is an attempt to tell his story to a broader audience, however, it's subpar in its execution and mostly creative storytelling that doesn't really show his historical winning streak, but rather the up-and-coming commander that he grows into.

There was a time in Europe where two Popes ruled the country: one in Rome, and one sanctioned and protected by the French king, and a secret feud broods between powerless Bohemian King Wenceslaus (Karel Roden) and his greedy brother Sigismund (Matthew Goode), who wants to take the throne by deceptive and double-crossing means. A plan is hatched by Lord Bores (Michael Caine) to enlist mercenary Jan Zizka (Ben Foster) and his men to abduct Catherine (Sophie Lowe), the fiancee of Rosenberg (Til Schweiger), Sigismund's main ally. At first Catherine tries to escape her captors, but as she is led across the countryside and sees the tortures and death that her fiancee has left in his wake, she opens up to the idea that her future husband isn't the kindly person she thought she knew, and unites with Zizka to save the empire and stop Sigismund's scheme before it comes to fruition.

While the plot seems entirely convoluted...well, that's exactly what it is. "Medieval" tries to bring in the "Game of Thrones" motif with double-crosses, epic battles, and waxing philosophical about religion and free will, and while you can sense the passion of writer/director Petr Jakl, the obvious money restraints pulled the movie back into being a mediocre period piece that's slightly higher in its production values than that of a megachurch's rendition of Easter Sunday. The film is shot entirely in drab colors, which makes me believe living in that era meant you lived in perpetual hues of dark blue and greys no matter the season, as most films of this time are shot this way (looking your way, "The Last Duel"), which does its job in setting an atmosphere of continual dread and hopelessness, but there had to be sunlight shining sometime during that period, right? Otherwise how would anything grow?

Anyway, aside from the eternal darkness, the film itself is rather bleak, filled with double-crosses, flying body parts, and all the other good things that should signify an action-packed spectacle, but the director seemed to get the cameraman from the "Bourne" films to shoot his film, as the action set pieces are done with a shaky-cam movement where you have absolutely no idea who's getting killed and by whom, except you know the main character makes it out of each skirmish alive. The sound editing team is the real unsung heroes, as they did a great job in incorporating the sounds of metal clashing against metal, squishy body parts coming off, and men screaming in pain and terror - so there's that, at least.

Ben Foster does an admirable job as Zizka, but he's not given a lot of meat to work with. He mutters through some lines about how "death brings life" by planting seeds next to the men he's murdered (which makes me believe if this was the case then Europe would be a vast wilderness) and how everything is "God's will" despite some very despicable things that men do in the name of God. He seems to hold his own in fights, but when it comes to his men it's more of an equal playing field where he doesn't really inspire "Braveheart" level speeches. Sophie Lowe seemed to get the assignment wrong and thought she was in some sort of religious performance, talking about how things weren't necessarily God's will and the chemistry she has with Foster is as dull as dishwater, and not like the Stockholm Syndrome style storytelling that's told. The other performers play to their character strengths, but poor Michael Caine seems totally lost in the role, his eyes seemingly plead with the audience to help him out of some sort of financial struggle he's facing to star in such a mediocre medieval monotony.

The story of Jan Zizka is the stuff of legend, as he was a man with no equal - and a man who never lost a battle. "Medieval" looks at his younger days before he became the legend, and since history is rather dark on that part of his life, Jakl took great liberties in telling his story - so much so I don't think anything in the film actually happened in real life. Looking at the younger Zizka, it's hard to see how he became such a commanding force of nature, as we never really get any information into his life or thought processes, but rather the final events that proved his unique fighting style. One prime example - and the best part of the film - is in the middle when his men are apparently surrounded and they utilize guerilla warfare and scare tactics to overcome their more numerous adversaries. Sadly, the other fighting sequences are rather typical for films like this, and hearken back to better performances in those films.

The Score: C