By the Will of Chingis Khan (2009) User Reviews (5)

Not "Mongol"

[OttoVonB · 5/10 · 22 July 2010]

Hollywood's labyrinthine logic dictates that you can wait years and years for a film about a given topic (asteroid hitting the Earth, Alexander the Great) and, lo and behold, suddenly two will come along. One will invariably trump the other, or even beat it to the screen and throw its production into limbo (the Alexander case). It seems the same rule now applies to global film-making.

The last 3 years have seen two Russian directors try to bring the great Mongol Khan's story to the screen. The result was, on one hand, the epic "Mongol" and this smaller-budgeted offering. Borissov's film suffers by comparison on almost every level: inferior cast, smaller budget and a perplexing wish to cram a huge, complex life story into 2 hours.

There are a few arresting images: a line of monks kneeling to be decapitated, riderless horses charging in battle - someone's been watching Sergei Bondarchuck's War and Peace - and the smaller moments. And yet, net balance is negative: Borissov insist on playing by epic Hollywood rules and those attempts end in failure, chiefly because of what looks like obvious digital photography (that or very bad lenses). While the film is never as ugly as Michael Mann's Public Enemies, it acts as a painful reminder that the technology still has not fully matured to the point where it can carry a period piece on an epic canvas.

All in all, not a complete waste of time if the subject matter appeals to you, in which case Mongol or the interesting, smaller Mongolian version of the tale by Saifu Mailisi (check Amazon.uk). Or maybe John Milius' long awaited version...

Well, That Was Weird.

[MVictorPjinsiste · 4/10 · 5 April 2018]

The sleeve poster is good, It's what compelled me to rent the title - overall a bad decision.

This movie looks like it was edited by people who had no idea what a movie is, or saw none: It is a serie of rather short chronological scenes, seemingly insignificant, on a background of more or less relevant muzak, abruptely stitched together with a total lack of context or comment.

That could be as useful tool of education on How to Not make a Movie. I felt no desire whatsoever to follow the characters in their petty womenlike sqabbles. It took a few times to try and finished viewing the actual movie because I was so bored and failed.

Otherwise, the images are magnificent, the actors are no without talent, and it carries an air of low-level authenticity in the way it depicts Mongolian everyday life in that era.

Don't rent/buy unless you are a student of Mongolian cinema, in which it is interesting. If you force a friend to see this, chance are he won't be your friend anymore afterwards.

One of the the most accurate historical movies of all time.

[kars-oes · 14 November 2011]

I study the migration and history of different people. The will of ghenghis khan is one of the the most accurate historical movies of all time down to the smallest detail. All names, customs, armour and weapons are correct. You can tell this movie has been worked on a lot.

Enormous effort has been put into this movie, with sublime photography, physical sets and good/decent acting. It even has references to previous civilizations such as the Skytic* people and northern mythology*. *Ghenghis khan wears a pendant with the shape of Thor's hammer, and the top of the flags used in battle end in a trident commonly used in Skytia magnum. I enjoyed this movie a lot and i hope you find this review helpful.

What a load of (you get it)

[tvanderweyden · 1/10 · 9 July 2020]

This is maybe my second or third review and I only write them if I am very excited or so dissapointed I need to write my frustrations down and warn others. This movie is definitely the second... I bought the blu-ray, because Genghis Kahn, how could that be terrible? Already from the start I was like, what the hell is this? I mean, take some liberty in writing to make it appeal to the audience, but they definitely killed the movie already in the intro. The dialogues are painfully bad and the acting is even worse. I can't even describe it how bad it is. It was such a waste of money and time. If you like history and wanted to see the movie because it has Genghis Kahn, then please consider Mongol over this one. Mongol might not be 100% correct and surely dramatized, but it tells the story of Temujin better and more interesting.

ambition

[Vincentiu · 23 October 2014]

result of its director ambition to present complete portrait of Temujin, it is not a good or bad movie but only vehicle for few beautiful images. because its bad luck is the temptation to compare with Mongol. than, the desire to build a large fresco. and not the last, the low budget and the not inspired solutions. so, no surprises. only a well known show, with the same ingredients, with a decent cast, out of reasonable message, interesting for few scenes who reminds others from real meritorious movies. it is not a bad option for viewer but it could not be a revelation. it has only the gift to present slices of a story and a lot of noble intentions. but the absence of measure, the error to not create a small film about the life of hero as puzzle of symbols is a sin in this case.