Review of Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan (2007) by Dipali D — 07 Feb 2009

The reviews are just glowing..! At first I didn't know what to make of this movie.. Back in 2006 I was raving to Ram how Hollywood should totally make a movie about Genghis Khan and how I envisioned the spectacle that his story would provide..

Picture this.. Hundreds upon thousands of thundering horsemen with quick bows clad in armor.. ASIAN.. and kicking butt all over the place..

My wishful thinking was that whoever made a movie about G.K. would do so in the tradition of Troy or Alexander.. I'm glad they didn't.. and I'm glad Sergei Bodrov thought about this long and hard.. and I'm glad this didn't come out of hollywood..

His treatment of the movie is so far removed from what we expect of large scale "action" movies.. Yes there are still overwhelming battle sequences, blood and gore and "thundering hooves" my personal favorite.. :) but once you get past that, it was all about the characters, the landscape, the pace at which Mongolian lives revolved.. no wack-job escapist storytelling.. the facts closely adhere to historical accounts.. and the dialogue is stripped bare no frills no smart lines..

In the end you are left with a broader understanding of the word "MONGOL".. and a desire to learn more.. which is more than I can say for hollywood movie "epics" these days..

My favorite quote "Timogen, all mongols fear thunder.. but not you?" ... "I had no place to hide from the thunder..so I wasn't afraid anymore".