Bullet Points: Medieval (2022)

Historical action films are kind of my jam. When I saw the trailer for Medieval, I thought to myself, “That looks super badass! And….it has Ben Foster in it!”

You can tell how excited I was so when it debuted and I heard very little about it, I was a bit disappointed. Normally a film like this would get some sort of online chatter since it appeared to be full of all sorts of violent battles and Ben Fosters. To say that I had some reservations upon watching it would be an understatement.

Synopsis: The story of fifteenth century Czech icon and warlord Jan Zizka (Ben Foster), who defeated armies of the Teutonic Order and the Holy Roman Empire.

• The Proverbial grain of salt: While the opening of this film says that it is “inspired by the true story of Jan Zizka”, we all know better by now. Much like my good pal Mel Gibson, I believe that historical action movies totally rule but I would love to see writers and director try to stick as closely to ‘real life’ as possible when making these movies. For Jan Zizka (sorry, not gonna put accent marks) it sounds like the number of badass things he did would fit into trilogy of films and that making up some stuff just wasn’t necessary.
• The elephant in the room: I’m not the type of person to get mad that a character who was a Czech hero isn’t played by a Czech fellow. It doesn’t bother me that Dolph Lundgren played Soviet Ivan Drago and I certainly don’t care that Colin Farrell isn’t from Macedonia. What matters to me is that the actor embody what made the character special and memorable. That was the case with the others I mentioned and while I am usually on board with Ben Foster in anything he does, I am going to have to say that in this case he was wasted. The majority of the story isn’t something that needed a Ben Foster and while it probably helped with the budget, it didn’t do much for me in terms of the final product.

• Caine: Veteran actor Michael Caine shows up from time to time as an ally to Jan Zizka and his employer. He had hired the band of mercenaries to protect him on his way to Prague for a big meeting. We already learned that the continent of Europe was in a real mess and it’s Caine’s Lord Boresh who is trying to make things right by coronating a new Emperor. Jan’s role is much simpler. He’s a religious man who tries to do his best to further Boresh’s agenda while quietly brooding and murdering his way around the countryside.
• Old Pals: We meet Torak, played by Roland Moller. He’s an old acquaintance of Jan’s who taught him much of what he knows about war. He’s also a real asshole who will kill anyone and everyone not useful to him. He gets paid by some of the equally bad politicians and nobles who control these wars from behind the scenes. As awful as he is, you have to respect the fact that Torak leads from teh front and isn’t forcing others to do his bidding for him.

• The Battles: If you’re a big fan of historical action films like me, then you’ll understand the importance of a good battle scene. Rarely will these films last long in our memories with sub-par battle sequences and I would go so far as to say that movies like this will be remembered more for the fighting than for the content. It’s easier for me to say this since I don’t have a personal connection to the character or the historical significance of what he did, but it also is true that the battle sequences in Medieval are totally badass! Jan Zizka and his giant mace, the use of the Hussite War Wagons, and a few gems here and there that lead to some serious destruction. To be perfectly frank, the story and the arcs for most of the characters take a backseat to the gruesome and glorious battle sequences. If that is your thing, then this is the movie for you.

The Verdict: Medieval is the type of film that speaks to me with its brutal mace-wielding action, its historically awesome military commanders, and its clear focus on the man who led the Hussite charge instead of all of those politicians and assholes who didn’t fight. This might be the Czech version of Braveheart even though it’s not quite as epic, but it sure has some downright awesome action that reminds you of the best fight scenes in HBO’s Game of Thrones. I tend to love Ben Foster whether he’s playing a bank-robbing PTSD vet or a guy in a Chris Stapleton video, so this was a definite win for me. Some might think that he’s wasted in this role since he feels a little out of place in such a unique genre film and the character doesn’t have a whole lot to emote over, but he more than holds his own in all of the action scenes. If you’re the type that hates movies like Braveheart and Kingdom of Heaven because of all of the violence then this one isn’t for you. Medieval won’t top the list of ‘best Medieval Action Films’ but it has some qualities that I really enjoyed.