A bio-pic centuries in the making, Mongol tells the story of warlord extraordinaire Genghis Khan. You may have heard of him, he’s the bloodthirsty barbarian who took over half the known world at the peak of his powers. Well, you’ll want to leave those preconceptions, and probably any fondness for historical accuracy, at the door when you check this out.
The narrative of the film presents him not as history’s most famous savage, but instead as a plucky underdog and passionate warrior who united the Mongolian race. There are times during the film when it appears his character arc is going to resemble a Shakespearian tragic hero, with forgiveness and the capacity for love as his tragic human flaw in a brutal, survivalist environment. At other times, it seems like a story charting his descent into the pinnacle of violence in the middle ages. Ultimately though, it ends up as something of a revisionist piece that attempts to re-evaluate him as a hero. There are times when his moral superiority comes off positively Christ like. Unfortunately, that makes it a less complex, compelling journey than the other possible outcomes it seemed to be foreshadowing.
Tadanobu Asano plays Khan and the nature of his role limits a fantastic actor. I was hoping for an acting showcase from the Japanese Johnny Depp, but the stoic warrior hero elements of the character force him to internalise his emotion and tone his performance down. The aspect that does get the showcase treatment is the locations. The vast, barren landscapes, allied with classy cinematography, are gorgeous’ creating an epic atmosphere that dwarfs the characters, thus making their relationship with the viewer strangely intimate. Of course there is a healthy dose of battle scenes, each a great action set piece in its own right and featuring some of the coolest swords ever committed to celluloid.
For all its fantastic visual qualities and tasteful blood and gore, Mongol is arguably less of a hit than it is a miss. I have fewer problems than most with filmmakers rewriting history to heighten the impact of a movie, but the reworking here doesn’t really achieve that. It’s enjoyable, but I can’t shake the feeling it had the potential to be so much more.
