Mongol (2007)
Mongol (2007) 6/10
Mongol is a standard feudal epic, replete with impressive cinematography, majestic battle sequences but lacking in heart. The heart of the film is Tadanobu Asano who plays Temujin, better known as Genghis Khan in his early years. While Asano valiantly does stoic, the script itself does not develop Temujin’s character beyond the strong, silent, righteous stereotype. Plus it is hard to support a heroic figure who gets his ass kicked 80% of his onscreen time and does not show any special attributes beyond superhuman stubbornness and endurance.
Mongol was nominated for best foreign language film Oscar in 2008, but the film itself does not really deserve such an accolade. While the film features a gorgeous landscape, and a technically impressive battle sequence, there is nothing here that makes the crowds go “wow”. The film is certainly entertaining, but is virtually indistinguishable from generic overcosted epic beyond its focus on Genghis Khan. That ultimately becomes part of the problem because the main character of Genghis remains a one-dimensional caricature throughout the film such that the soul of the film gets bogged down. Ultimately, Mongol remains an ambitious but deeply flawed effort.
