After just reading about Genghis Khan in Time’s Eye, this movie caught my eye and interest.

It tells the story of  Genghis Khan before he became the great conquerer of the middle ages in Asia, starting out when he was a 9 year old  boy by  the name of Temudgin the 1180 time-frame.

The movie is the first of a trilogy, and we can now look forward to Khan the warlord. It’s all in Mongolian (made in Kazakhstan) with English subtitles. I was glad they spoke Mongolian. Having them speak American English would simply not have worked.

Life was rough in Europe, but this view into Central Asia makes medieval Europe seem like a cushy place. There is terrible carnage, senseless wars, brutal killing of innocent people in all directions. The movie is full of very bloody war scenes. Every time somebody gets stabbed the blood seems to squirt all over the screen. We never see arms or heads fly, but they must have, but we see blood everywhere. We cannot imagine how anybody can walk away alive from one of those battles.

This is a historical epic unlike what you see coming out of Hollywood, and for that reason alone definitely a worthwhile movie to watch.

Sit back, have some popcorn, and be glad you are alive today, and not in 1200.

Rating: ***