“Mongol” chronicles the early life of Temudgin (later known as Genghis Kahn). Not only do we see him as a young child learning from father, but we also see the tragedies he experiences, his complicated relationship with his brother, his deep relationship with his wife, and his eventual rise to power.

“Mongol” is not a flawless film by any means. The script (written by Sergei Bodrov and Arif Alyev) tends to simplify and skip over certain events and the pacing is certainly a bit slow in spots. Hopefully, director Sergei Bodrov will learn from his mistakes by expanding upon crucial events in the planned two sequels.  

Complaints aside, “Mongol” is still an entertaining and grandiose production filled with fascinating characters and history, tons of extras, loads of costumes, animals, elaborate sets and bloody battles with some truly unique point of view sword fight shots.

The 2.4:1 1080p picture is gorgeous. I was especially impressed by shots of the desert, the blue and cloudy skies, the snow covered land, and the literally rocky terrain.

The Mongolian Dolby Digital 5.1 is superb all around. The dialogue, score, horse riding, and epic battles all sounded sharp to me.

Sadly, the only extra is a digital copy. That's it.