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"A movie worth watching"

Written By: L Gontzes

Nomad: The Warrior brings to the screen the story of a young Kazakh who grows up to become the hero that will rid Kazakh lands of enemies and unite the scattered tribes.
I will agree with the previous reviewer in that the Jungars had more of a legitimate claim to Genghis Khan's legacy while the Kazakhs were the ones that sought Russia's protection as opposed to the other way around. Hence the movie is historically inaccurate as it follows a Kazakh nationalist agenda which includes the slightest anti-Russian jabs.
Jason Scott Lee, Kuno Becker, and the rest of the cast have truly outdone themselves with their performances, which are outstanding to say the least! All the actors, without exceptions, give it their 100% and it really shows, though I fail to see why foreign actors were used to portray Kazakhs. Moreover, it was rather obvious that the lead actors were ethnically different from the supporting cast to the point that Mansur and his father are as similar as far as both of them belonging to the human race and that's about it (i.e. father and son look nothing like one another).
Additionally, Gauhar's capture was a bit ridiculous, thus becoming a bit of a spoiler.
Furthermore, those that wrote the Greek subtitles do not know the difference between Cossacks and Kazakhs!!! Amateurs!
Nevertheless, the setting, the dialogues, and the costumes are all wonderful! The scenery in particular is breathtaking and the movie does a great job of shedding light on several peoples of the central Asian steppes.
In a nutshell, Nomad: The Warrior is a movie definitely worth watching as it will surely provide for an evening's entertainment, though it could have easily avoided the mistakes it made.

"Ridiculous premise"

Written By: Peech

While this movie has some good fight scenes and the cinematography is quite good, the basic premise of the movie is ridiculously flawed.

From the very beginning, Jason Scott Lee's narrative talks about the Kazakh's people having ancestors like Genghis Khan, and having to fight off invaders such as the Jungars. The Kazakhs are only partly descended from the Mongols, as they were primarily a Turkic people whose cities were DESTROYED by Genghis Khan and his Mongol army. Jungars were more direct descendants of Genghis Khan than the Kazakhs ever were.

In the movie, we see the Jungar Khan getting cannons from what look like the Russians. Funnily enough, historically it was the Kazakhs who sought protection by the Russians against the Jungars...

I'm curious as to why the Kazakhs participated in the movie when the historical references about their people were so wrong...

"Beautiful, simple"

Written By: PJR

A beautiful film with a straight forward and sufficient plot. There was even something endearingly sweet and charming about it despite all the fighting.

Thanks for a hero who is strong and is just a nice guy with inner strength and warrior skills and does not have to rub our face in it with bluster and swagger! These visual cliches could have worked too, but it has been done countless times by John Wayne, Bruce Willis, etc. Becker was a refreshing alternative that worked for me given the script. His people had been waiting for a prophesied warrior-leader -- and he was up to his destiny without having to be theatrically charismatic. In fact he was raised learning to conceal his identity and destiny and that helped make his modesty and quiet strength work for me. Of course the deviation from warrior-hero stereotypes and uncomplicated script also offered fresh meat for the critics who apparently expected it to be in competition with other epics and used them as standards.

I don't think the film was over-dramatized or that the blood was gratuitous and this may disappoint some viewers. I am glad that I took some negative reviews with a grain of salt. No, it was not sensational Hollywood or Eisenstein and did not knock me off my feet, but there are lots of standards and various ways in which films can be good.

I googled "kazakhstan mansur" and found interesting comments on the book by Ilyas Yesenberlin and on the film and on the actual historical figure. Not every historical "epic" makes me spend time to learn more about a remote country!

"Suprisingly good."

Written By: Bryan Lambert

Not expecting too much from this little movie I was delighted & suprised with how good it was. You don't need to know where Kazakhstan is or who Ghengis Kahn was to enjoy this film. One group of people wants to take over another and the fight is on--the languange & location really don't matter once you get that. The scenery is unbelievable; the charcters honorable and heroic; the violence mild by the standards of any American slasher movie; and the love story touching and "G" rated. It's also refreshing to see an action movie for a change which has absolutely nothing to do with Americans. I liked it a lot.

"Historical spectacle of Kazakh nation unification"

Written By: Reader

I am fan of Sergei Bodrov's (director) movies. Although this direction was a shared effort on his behalf, I expected no less and I am glad to say that I was not disappointed. It is a movie about nation of Kazakhs who live in tundra region between mighty mountains and mighty nations of China and Russia. They are conquered by Mongols, Jungars and other nations until there is a prophecy that a new warrior, descendant of Ginghis Khan will bring them freedom and unity. It is a spectacular movie with great fighting scenes, horseback riding bonanza, wonderful costumes, unique language and exotic looking beautiful women. Film also shows the value of friendship and loyalty. Our young warrior and creator of a nation is lucky to have a wise man for a teacher who teaches him not only how to fight battles and ride horses, but also how to be wise and patient ruler of the people. One cannot stop and remember Aristotle being a teacher to the young Alexander The Great. Kazakh leader is fair and strong and beautiful both inside and out thanks to the wise man who has molded him from his early years. If you liekd "Gladiator", you will like this one even more. It is a foreign movie, so be prepared for subtitles.