By the Will of Chingis Khan (2009)

By the Will of Chingis Khan (2009). 2h 7m

“Hollywoodu0026#39;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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe last 3 years have seen two Russian directors try to bring the great Mongol Khanu0026#39;s story to the screen. The result was, on one hand, the epic u0026quot;Mongolu0026quot; and this smaller-budgeted offering. Borissovu0026#39;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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThere are a few arresting images: a line of monks kneeling to be decapitated, riderless horses charging in battle – someoneu0026#39;s been watching Sergei Bondarchucku0026#39;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 Mannu0026#39;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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll 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 Miliusu0026#39; long awaited version…”