The western-produced Greco-Judeo-Roman epic has been with us since early cinema, while the Chinese film industry kept the eastern end up with a string of recent historical pictures. But what about the lands in between? Apart from a smattering of pictures about Genghis Khan, including John Wayne’s regrettable appearance in 1956’s The Conqueror, the Mongol hordes have not exactly ravaged the box office. So it’s refreshing to see Rise of the Conqueror sally forth, with Christian Mortensen in the saddle as the 14th-century Turkic-Mongol chieftain Timur.
This is basically Gladiator with added throat-singing. Man-at-arms Timur is a kingmaker caught between his native Barlas tribe, which includes his testy brother-in-law Hussayn (Mahesh Jadu) who’s eager to reclaim his family’s rule in Samarkand; on the other side is occupying Mongol warmonger Tugluk (Maruf Otajonov), who appreciates him for his khan-do attitude. Tugluk pegs Timur to advise his son, Ilias (Joshua Jo), to whom he has entrusted the city. But this feckless scion doesn’t appreciate the babysitter; after he poisons Timur, the latter is forced into exile with the Zoroastrian raiders he once hunted.
