Mongol

This was a great movie, beautifully shot, telling a story that not many people know. I have to say that the story is different to the story I had read about the start of his life, but maybe there is a lot of speculation? My main issue is the lack of action, so I hope this is only part 1 about his rise to power, and hope the chinese wars follow....

I don't usually find films boring, but there were large streches of this film were I was really bored. I'm not saying its a bad film; it's not. The cinematography is very good, the story is rich and interesting, the acting is excellent and the battles are vicious and exciting. My problem is with the pace of the movie, it is like you are watching the first part of the trilogy (which it might be) not a single, stand alone, self contained film. So it moves along really slowly and has a little too much focus on certain charecter relationships which are explored in a little too much detail, instead of moving the narrative forward, it becomes something of a mood piece. For me, if this is the first part of a trilogy, I will be happy to forgive its flaws and view it as such, on it's own though, its too slow and unfocused to be really entertaining.

This is well worth the money. It's a beautiful looking film and gives a decent amount of detail on genghis' early years without overloading you with detail. Sweeping shots of the Mongolian plains and amazing war scenes make it great to watch. I have read the Conn Iggulden Conqueror books and they are good but Iggulden unfortunately uses too much artistic licence for my liking. This seems a lot closer to the actual story, tho of course it is a film so don't expect total historical accuracy. All in all I'd recommend buying this film as it can be watched again and again.

This film, telling of the early life of Temudgin, later to be known as Genghis Khan, is a Russian film, with a largely Japanese cast and English subtitles. It was clearly early on that the details of the story it told didn't wholly coincide with what I'd read, and this was a good thing - it mean that I had to take the film entirely on its own merits.

The first thing to say is that it is visually very impressive. It conveys the vast distances and stark, desolate beauty of the steppes very well. This film is worth seeing for its visual impact alone.

But there is more than that. The three central parts - Temudgin, his wife Borte, and his blood brother Jamukha - are all very well cast: these three actors are all excellent. The life of the nomadic, warlike Mongols was incredibly harsh, and keeping emotion under careful control was an essential part of that: characters are therefore often very stony faced. Yet there is much emotion under the surface, allowed to show through to a very limited extent in skilled performances. I must also mention the young cast members, who all do very well.

The story moves along its event-filled path in such a way as to hold the interest throughout. There are a number of battle sequences which are well-staged, conveying the brutality of battle without being particularly graphic, and also giving some idea of Temudgin's strengths as a tactician.

Mongol is definitely an epic film with amazing set pieces, and the transformation of Khan from a young boy to a young adult certainly is the best part of the film as he spends most of his youth being hunted, captured, and escaping from the evil clutches of rival gang members. My only disappointment is the end of the film which is a bit of an anti-climax, as you expect an enormous battle as he beomes ruler or the largest empire in history, but instead it slightly fizzles out. Anyhow, a great film with amazing performances from the leading trio, a definite watch (try and see on widescreen with surround sound if you missed it at the cinema). Also, Channing Tatum is NOT in this film - play.com, you might want to change that.