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Mongol
Picturehouse


7.5

based on 27 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 23 votes
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FILM:

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:	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...

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Mongol is a throwback to a more respectable tradition. The largeness of its scope arises naturally from the material, not the budget. The movie earns its stature.

Variety Alissa Simon

This Central Asia-set historical epic from Russian helmer Sergei Bodrov ("Nomad") boasts breathtaking landscapes, dazzling cinematography, bloody battles and unique traditions.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Mongol -- or, as I prefer to think of it, "Genghis Khan: The Early Years" -- is a big, ponderous epic, its beautifully composed landscape shots punctuated by thundering hooves and bloody, slow-motion battle sequences.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

I don't know the Mongolian word for panache, but Mongol's got plenty of it. The battle scenes are as notable for their clarity as their intensity; we can follow the strategies, get a sense of who's losing and who's winning. The physical production is sumptuous.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

In the end, we're about a third of the way through the great Khan's life; he hasn't even begun to take down the cities of Cathay or spread his seed. That suggests two sequels. I, for one, can't wait.

USA Today Claudia Puig

Mongol is quality escapism: an exotic saga that compels, moves and envelops us with its grand and captivating story.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

As a visual spectacle, it is all but overwhelming, putting to shame some of the recent historical epics from Hollywood. If it has a flaw, and it does, it is expressed succinctly by the wife of its hero: "All Mongols do is kill and steal."

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Mongol is great cinema, great fun.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Proves eye-opening in two ways: Sweeping, bloody battles will make your orbs pop, and you'll re-evaluate this supposedly “uncivilized” man who unified quarrelsome Central Asian tribes to create one of the largest empires in history.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

The casting also works. As the Khan, Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano ("Zatoichi") is all effortless charisma, and Chinese actor Honglei Sun (as his best friend-turned-enemy) and Mongolian actress Khulan Chuluun (as his faithful wife, Borte) are just as effective.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Quite grand, quite exotic, David Lean-style epic.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Full of stunning views of China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan and showing an unexpected side of Genghis Kahn, Mongol feels like an old-fashioned epic.

Village Voice Jim Ridley

Last year's Academy Award nominee from Kazakhstan for Best Foreign Film, Mongol is purportedly the first in a multi-film saga on the wrath of Khan; as such, it's probably the last thing you'd expect--great fun.

Empire Will Lawrence

With its breathtaking landscapes, bloody battles, bitter betrayals and an aching love story, Mongol is a sumptuously crafted epic.

San Francisco Chronicle Walter Addiego

In general the film is so impressive that we can't leave the theater without wanting more.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Even at the movie's most ridiculous (and Mongol is not without its ridiculous moments), this is a picture you laugh with more than laugh at.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

This is a violent, romantic, beautifully shot and performed film -- with brutal battle scenes and charisma-bomb performances by Asano as the future Khan and Honglei Sun as a rival chieftain and brother-in-arms.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Oliver Stone tried encapsulating Alexander's life into one movie, only to discover the task was impossible. Bodrov knows better, using Mongol -- the first of an intended trilogy -- to center on Genghis Khan's formative years.

Slate Dana Stevens

My only problem with Mongol is that--how often in life do you get to write this sentence?---Genghis Khan is a little too nice.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jason McBride

As an epic action movie, Mongol is satisfying enough. Think "Braveheart." Think "300." Just don't think too much.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

While rich in ethnographic detail, the film ultimately recalls nothing more than pulp fictions like Robert E. Howard’s "Conan the Barbarian," which validate their worship of ubermensch-ian brawn by way of sad tales of childhood victimization.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

A grandly kitschy rendering of Genghis Khan's early years.

New York Daily News Joe Neumaier

Every performer is tough and charismatic, especially Honglei Sun, who, as Jamukha, gives so many neck-cracks, guttural howls and conspiratorial smiles he's like a Chinese Marlon Brando.

New York Post Kyle Smith

Mongol really isn't worth leaving your yurt for.

The Hollywood Reporter Frank Scheck

Sergei Bodrov's Mongol relates the story of Genghis Khan's early years in a plodding, uninspired fashion that doesn't bode well for the next two entries in a planned trilogy.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

By the time the film's abrupt conclusion arrives, you realize you've been watching a love story and not, as some might hope, "The Lord of the Rings: The Asian Edition."

Film Threat Phil Hall

Inert, inept epic.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 23 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

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.

Bill B. gave it a5:
Mongol started out with a lot of promise and for the first half hour I thought I was watching a really great film. Unfortunately, the film quickly gets repetitive. Looking at my watch, I realized nearly two hours had passed and the story was into its third repetition of the same subplot. How are they going to wrap this up? I wondered. I got the answer - a major fast forward and a boring final battle. At best, Mongol is worth a matinee and I think mostly positive critical reviews are based on the "since it's foreign it must be good" mentality.

Martin M. gave it a3:
I thought it was going to be all about the conquests and wars of Genghis Khan; about how he build his empire. Wrooong. It was solely about uninteresting events of his life that MAY have led him to become a great leader. You'll learn nothing about Genghis Khan that you really want to know about, for sure.

Theo B gave it a9:
All I can say is, "You can't cook two ram heads in the same pot".

Evan T. gave it a10:
Think of 300, except refer to it as cakewalk when discussing this movie.

Mongol Picturehouse

Mongol
Picturehouse