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Upcoming Release Calendar
43
Anamorph Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Mongol
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MPAA RATING: R for sequences of bloody warfare
Starring Tadanobu Asano
Mongol illuminates the life and legend of Genghis Khan. Based on leading scholarly accounts and Mongol delves into the dramatic and harrowing early years of the ruler who was born as Temudgin in 1162. As it follows Temudgin from his perilous childhood to the battle that sealed his destiny, the film paints a multidimensional portrait of the future conqueror, revealing him not as the evil brute of hoary stereotype, but as an inspiring, fearless and visionary leader. Mongol shows us the making of an extraordinary man, and the foundation on which so much of his greatness rested: his relationship with his wife, Borte, his lifelong love and most trusted advisor. (Picturehouse)
| GENRE(S): | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Sergei Bodrov
Arif Aliyev |
| DIRECTED BY: | Sergei Bodrov |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: October 14, 2008 Theatrical: June 6, 2008 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 120 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | Germany | Kazakhstan | Russia | Mongolia |
| LANGUAGE(S): | Mongolian |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 26 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Ernest S. gave it a10:
Amazing movie! completely entertaining and satisfyingly educational. After completing this film I was inspired to find out more information about genghis khan's empire and family. Everyone should see this, its just great.
Julian P. gave it a9:
It was excellent, who ever said that only alexander the great had feelings and cared for his family. It is always good to show the human side of tyrants.
Michael B. gave it a7:
It's sort of like Braveheart with Asian people instead of Scots, but with maybe a fifth of the action. I would definitely recommend it if you have an interest in history (especially in that of Khan himself), but if you're looking for a huge action flick, this just isn't it.
Ryan S. gave it a7:
Chad S. from the advance scout team must be a typical westerner who thinks Genghis Khan was just a mindless murderer, like another review said, his reputation is more positive in the east than in the west. Someone might as well make a movie that emphasizes all the bad and awful things George Bush has done.
Hemispheres gave it a7:
Genghis Khan's reputation is more positive in the East than it is here in the West, where his very name is synonymous with mindless, rampaging violence. This film is supposedly the first of a trilogy of the Khan's life and is relatively light on exposition and high on drama. It's fun and fairly mindless entertainment with charismatic performances, especially from Honglei Sun, whose glittering performance jumps from the screen. On a side note: In my opinion the following line from another review is really, really funny: "Perhaps Mel Gibson is the only filmmaker who would be willing to make an honest film about the Mongol leader."
Gus gave it a9:
Excellent historical epic with great use of visual imagery and symbolic metaphors. Solid storytelling and great, if not short, choreographed battle scenes.
Chad S. gave it a4:
Some people are so well-known, or infamous, or both, when you portray them in a before-they-were-famous light, you invite unintentional laughter. For example, Menno Meyjes' "Max", which chronicled Adolph Hitler's days as a struggling painter in Munich. A man such as Hitler, so synonymous with evil, is nearly impossible to humanize. When the John Cusack character tells the Fuhrer, "You're an awfully hard man to like, Hitler," you flinch, you may even wince, because some lives might be unfilmable if the notion of a character arc seems like pure folly. Genghis Khan might be another such man, whose reputation for murder and mayhem is equally infamous and pronounced. Perhaps Mel Gibson is the only filmmaker who would be willing to make an honest film about the Mongol leader. This sanitized version of the life and times of Genghis Khan, or Temudgin, to the people who knew him way back when, plays like a western from the nineteen-fifties. Khan should be an anti-hero at best, but he's practically John Wayne in "Mongol", as the film portrays him as a man who has not an ounce of moral ambiguity or cold-blooded ruthlessness.
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