Sure he eventually says no to her, and there's no physical aspect to the affair. But the most disturbing thing that no one is mentioning is the emotional affair Barnum has with Jenny Lind. More scantily clad than I would prefer for my kids. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails. It's not garnering the same kind of acclaim as La La Land, but The Greatest Showman's charming leads and circus scenes should make it a fun pick for families who enjoy history, musical theater, and, of course, the circus. Although it's based on factual events, the movie only covers a short period in Barnum's life and glosses over certain aspects of his career. But overall the plot and songs are easy enough for tweens to follow - and with Zendaya and Zac Efron co-starring, the movie is likely to appeal to them. There's a bit of language ("damn," the racial slur "spooks," "oh God!," etc.) and violence (protesters burn down the circus, a man slaps a young boy), as well as some drama surrounding the movie's interracial romance, which was taboo at the time. Barnum, who starts out as a penniless orphan but becomes the world-renowned creator of the circus. Medieval doesn't live up to the full potential of Žižka's story, but kudos to Jákl for taking on such an ambitious project.Parents need to know that The Greatest Showman is a biographical musical from the songwriters of La La Land that stars Hugh Jackman as P.T. Schweiger is well cast as an aristocrat with a punchable face, and Danish actor Roland Møller stands out as the ruthless mercenary Torak. At least the well-known actors are always a pleasure to see: Caine still impresses, and Goode is quite adept at playing a villain who feels called by God to usurp his brother. Unfortunately, Jákl doesn't provide enough historical context or exposition along with the movie's epically bloody fight scenes.Īnd even if you don't care about the history or Žižka's personal story, the movie is still disappointing in its pacing and plot, alternating the dizzying gore-fest of its war and torture scenes (so much viscera, so many detached limbs!) with slow-moving dialogue that still somehow doesn't explain exactly who's on what side - or why those sides should matter. Žižka was a brilliant tactician who was reportedly undefeated in battle, despite losing his eye(s). The script doesn't give him the gravitas that other aloof historical figures have received in movies like Braveheart or Spartacus. Foster is a gifted Method actor, but despite his simmering intensity, he seems miscast and borderline uncomfortable in this role (and not just because he's not Czech). But what director Petr Jákl, working from a story by his father that he co-wrote, doesn't do is provide an adequate or in-depth profile of the Czech legend the movie is about: Middle Ages war genius/strategist Jan Žižka. If all you want is something with Gladiator-meets- Braveheart-style movie violence, Medieval delivers an impressively bloated body count. This action-drama underwhelms as a historical drama and biographical film, but the over-the-top battle sequences make this a serviceable - if grisly - period action adventure. Although the film (reportedly the most expensive Czech movie ever made) was directed and co-written by Czech filmmaker Petr Jákl, it's an international production, starring Ben Foster as Žižka, as well as Matthew Goode, Michael Caine, Sophie Lowe, and Til Schweiger. While viewers might learn a bit about the story's historical context, the movie highlights action/war violence over Žižka's biography. One scene shows a man in bed with his partially nude mistress after implied sex. Adult soldiers drink socially (from flasks, wineskins, goblets), and there's a bit of language (one "s-t," a couple uses of "damn," and some insult language). There are beheadings, eviscerations, amputations, and eye gouging, as well as impalements, threats to and the murder of a child, and battle sequences that show dozens of dead or severely injured bodies. It's bloody and gory in its many graphic scenes of warfare and torture, including depictions of and references to sexual violence and rape. Parents need to know that Medieval is an ultraviolent historical action-drama about legendary Czech war hero/strategist Jan Žižka.
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