At the onset, you must know that I am not saying this because I am Mr. Political Correctness. No, my gripe about having white actors playing everyone in this movie is simply that they look nothing like Mongols or Uzbekistanis! And, the last time I remember seeing an epic about this material, John Wayne himself starred as Genghis Khan ("The Conqueror")! Here, Marvin MIller plays Khan...and Ann Blyth plays an Uzbekistani princess! It's simply a matter of bad casting and believability...and having all these white Americans in every role does harm the overall film...and it can't help but do this. So, apart from this, is it a good movie?
The story begins with Sir Guy (David Farrar) arriving at the Uzbek capitol, Samarkand, to meet the Princess (Blyth). It seems Genghis Khan's horde are on their way and he offers his assistance. Now, if you think about it, an English knight could have offered no help against Khan...none...as Khan controlled the largest and most dominant army of all time. She rejects his offer...which isn't a bad thing. Soon emissaries of Khan arrive and you wonder with whom, if anyone, the princess will make an alliance.
Much of this movie makes the mistake of being talky instead of action-packed. This doesn't mean I'm a great fan of just action, but here it would have been appreciated. I'm guessing most people watching the movie don't care about the machinations and talk....so I'm probably not alone here. The worst part about all the talk was Sir Guy...who always was yelling or sounding like a man with a bad case of gout. But others manage to come off pretty badly due to the stilted dialog.
Overall, while the film looks expensive, it's dreadfully dull, badly written and a historical mess. Watch it if you want...but I think it's more an ordeal than fun to watch.
