MONGOL :THE RISE TO POWER OF GENGHIS KHAN (2007)

I seem to be on a bit of a Russian kick at the moment. This epic retelling of the rise of Temujdin is very entertaining without ever really reaching the heights it seems to be aiming for. If you've seen either the John Wayne epic or the dreadful version starring Omar Sharif you'll recognise all the main characters and the basic plot - Temujdin, Jamuga, Bortai etc but this films easily makes more believable watching with oriental actors. It's weakness for me is that despite some nicely staged battle scenes the film often resorts to telling you what Temujdin did rather than telling you how. How does he escape his wooden yoke?, how does he escape from the ice? and how does he raise his army? But that said it is an interesting film, spectacularly shot, well acted and enjoyable. Rating ***