The Rising Hawk

Of course the plot was a bit stereotypic and definitely predictable. But if you like medieval kind of movies without expecting that everything is perfectly historically, you will like it. But the blacksmith has to be the strongest man that ever lived ;-)

I was hesitant to watch this movie because of the negative ratings , but then I gave it a shot, and so I understand the disappointment . It talks about an interesting era in history that might be special to a lot of people who watched it and were disappointed as the scenery is nice, customs are really nice but the plot and conversations sound like they are in modern United States . I think it would have been much better if it was more original, maybe done in the original language with a more solid dialogue .

This Ukrainian made movie in English has patches of spoken language pronunciation problems which is difficult to apprehend. All the invaders' language has no English subtitles which is a discouraging factor.

The story itself is entertaining and interesting, moving along at a fair pace. Once the invaders arrive, it becomes more exciting with good fighting scenes. The climax raises the overall star rating to a decent 6.

As pointed out by others the plot and screenplay doesnt match.But still a good effort in recreating the struggles that the protagonist and his clan went through during that era of history.

In the 13th century, common folks escape the bloodshed from the Mongol invasion in Kyiv for the safety of the Carpathian Mountains. Maksim (Alex MacNicoll) saves Myroslava (Poppy Drayton) and she convinces her powerful father Tuhar Vovk (Tommy Flanagan) to attend a celebration in Maksim's settlement led by Maksim's father Zakhar Berkut (Robert Patrick). Tuhar looks down upon and distrusts these mountain folk. After an attack, Maksim and his brother rescue many prisoners and in the process, kill the son of Mongol general Burunda Khan. The Khan intends on revenge.

This is an Ukrainian sword and sandal historical drama. MacNicoll has the looks but he does need a bit more charisma to lead. Drayton does have both. It is odd that the story and production is Ukrainian but most of the actors are English westerners. It is what it is. It's a fine B-movie. It's too long at just over two hours. There are sections in the second half which drags. This can't be the highest Khan. Also the action is a little over the top. I do like some of it and that's enough to keep my attention. It's barely passable.