"Mongol" delves into the dramatic and harrowing early years of the ruler who was born as Temudjin (Tadanobu Asano) in 1162. The film paints a multidimensional portrait of the future conqueror, revealing him not as the evil brute of hoary stereotype, but as an inspiring, fearless and visionary leader. "Mongol" shows us the making of an extraordinary man and the foundation on which so much of his greatness rested: the relationship with his wife, Börte (Khulan Chuluun) and his most trusted advisor.

This genuine work of art by award-winning Russian director Sergei Bodrov is like the Mongolian version of "Gladiator (2000)". It tells the story about a rising hero, Genghis Khan, or mostly known as Temudjin in the film, whom was captured and enslaved, only to rise through the ranks through battle.

Set in Mongolia, the film went through the many phases of Genghis Khan's life - from the early years when he was just a child to the later days when he fought for Mongolia's unity. Even though the film was set mostly in Mongolia, principal shooting was actually done in China and Kazakhstan as well. When watching the film, you would notice places that look like the Arabian Deserts and the greeneries of Mainland China. But those were the lands claimed by the old Mongolian Empire.

This movie however, is different from the usual epic war films because it doesn't feature a lot of war and fighting scenes that are familiar to the general public but instead only small battles that Genghis Khan had encountered throughout his life. This might disappoint moviegoers whom are into more commercial types of war films with long battle scenes and a grand finale so seal the movie.

The cinematography however was not very good, especially for the battle scenes. This is what made the movie fall apart even more. The camerawork is very confusing and we had to figure out who is fighting who and what is actually happening during the battle. This part of the film is important because that was what Genghis Khan was famous for and many people would anticipate at least one good battle scene from this movie.

The plot of the movie is pretty decent because it shows many parts of Genghis Khan's life that was lesser known to the general audience. Maybe the director wanted to emphasise more on that. However, for special effects, the film used CG animation to create the war scenes but it's not realistic in any groundbreaking way.

Most of the cast were notably good in acting out their roles but the lead actor who played Genghis Khan did not show much of the traits that you would think a natural leader and hero like Genghis Khan would have. If you would like to watch a movie that has battle scenes full of blood and gore, then this is the movie for you.