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Reviews provided by RottenTomatoes
A.O. Scott, New York Times: Mongol is a big, ponderous epic, its beautifully composed landscape shots punctuated by thundering hooves and bloody, slow-motion battle sequences. Read more
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: I don't know the Mongolian word for panache, but Mongol's got plenty of it. The battle scenes are as notable for their clarity as their intensity; we can follow the strategies, get a sense of who's losing and who's winning. Read more
John Hartl, Seattle Times: Bodrov's movie is most likely to be remembered for its fierce battle sequences, which frequently place the camera smack in the middle of the action. Read more
Jonathan F. Richards, Film.com: When we think of the fearsome Genghis Khan, we don't picture him as ever having been a little boy. But he must have been, and that is where this grand throwback to the sweeping historical epics of yesteryear takes up the Great Khan's story. Read more
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: The film, a foreign-language Oscar nominee, is epic in scope, in scale, in story, in everything. It has as much action as any brain-dead Hollywood blockbuster, but Mongol also has heart and intelligence. Read more
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: Bodrov and Arif Aliyev wrote the film, which was one of this year's foreign-language Oscar nominees, and their account is framed as a drama of inflamed loins and intense loyalty. Read more
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: Having Bodrov, who directed the excellent The Prisoner of the Mountains, in charge here is an advantage. Though there is only so much any director can do with characters who are next door to mythic, Bodrov can do more than most, and it helps. Read more
Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: A grandly kitschy rendering of Genghis Khan's early years, the ones revealing how a boy became a ruthless yet humane warrior, devoted family man and all-around good fellow, Mongol might as well be called Braveheart in a Yurt. Read more
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: A thoroughly rousing hunk of celluloid, a war saga that blends the sturdiest conventions of old-fashioned heroic storytelling with a few pixilated battle enhancements - check out the soaring blood globs - of the kind that spattered across 300. Read more
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Mongol is a throwback to a more respectable tradition. The largeness of its scope arises naturally from the material, not the budget. The movie earns its stature. Read more
Tom Long, Detroit News: A broad, old-fashioned epic in the David Lean mold. Read more
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov contrasts images of sweeping landscape and propulsive battle with potent scenes of emotional intimacy in Mongol, his quite grand, quite exotic, David Lean-style epic. Read more
Amy Nicholson, I.E. Weekly: Lacking great themes and inner depth, Mongol is just another galloping wondershow of ice blue skies and rocky plains, a light diversion with delusions of grandeur Read more
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: The battle sequences are tremendous, and the performances are captivating, making for the sort of rousing, giant-scale entertainment that a figure as towering as Genghis Khan deserves. Read more
John Anderson, Newsday: Bold, epic battle-happy movie that humanizes the world-conqueror and gives him plenty to be aggressive about. Read more
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The founder of history's greatest contiguous empire gets an appropriately bravehearted movie, an exciting actioner from Russian director Sergei Bodrov. Read more
Kyle Smith, New York Post: Combining the intelligence of an action movie with the excitement of an art-house release makes Mongol as dry as summer in the Gobi Desert. Read more
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: Mongol, from its thrilling battles to its intimate romance, has the look, scale, story and feel of an old-fashioned epic in the best and biggest sense of the word. Read more
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: The first part of what director Bodrov promises to be a trilogy tracing the life of the historic conqueror, Mongol is great cinema, great fun. Read more
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: A ferocious film, blood-soaked, pausing occasionally for passionate romance and more frequently for torture. As a visual spectacle, it is all but overwhelming, putting to shame some of the recent historical epics from Hollywood. Read more
Walter V. Addiego, San Francisco Chronicle: There are plenty of haunting landscapes... along with the sort of warfare scenes that define epics, but also an unexpected take on one of history's most fearsome leaders. Read more
Dana Stevens, Slate: This is a historical epic like Mom -- or David Lean -- used to make. It's got transgenerational blood feuds, galloping steeds, lucky talismans carried for years by separated lovers, and steppes -- lots and lots of steppes. Read more
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Mongol is the first film of a proposed trilogy that charts his conquest of half the known world. If the sequels match this one, they can't come soon enough. Read more
Jason McBride, Globe and Mail: As an epic action movie, Mongol is satisfying enough. Think Braveheart. Think 300. Just don't think too much. Read more
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Even if you can't completely follow the plot, you also can't take your eyes off the scenery, the thrilling horse chases and the throat-slashing battles. Read more
Tom Huddleston, Time Out: A gracefully mounted, stunningly photographed historical account, fascinating in its attention to detail if somewhat unengaging in its story and characters. Read more
Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic: Mongol has just enough characterization to sustain its own reason for being -- cinematic fullness. Read more
Claudia Puig, USA Today: While the historical accuracy may be dodgy, Mongol is a sweeping and quasi-mythical epic that recalls Lawrence of Arabia. Read more
Stephen Hunter, Washington Post: The result is a wallow in old movie pleasures, full of battles, flying dust, thousands of men on horseback, beautiful women, treachery, slaughter, really cool hats and even more slaughter. Read more