Genghis Khan

Was 13th-century Mongol emperor Genghis Khan a barbarian who slaughtered millions, or was he more interesting? This lavish biography - a drama steered by voiceover - wants us to believe the latter. It does a great job of humanising Genghis, but by the end you still can't help thinking that, for all his achievements - at one point he ruled the biggest ever land empire - he was basically a barbarian who slaughtered millions. The film includes a lot of bloodshed and any number of fierce Mongol hordes, as you'd expect. But it's all so well filmed that what could become tiresome has real power. There are battle scenes worthy of a Hollywood movie, and the Mongolian extras are so convincing, you may feel they're storming through your living room. It's an amazing story that will leave you glad to be alive in 21st-century Britain. (official distributor synopsis)