Mongol

This biopic about the first third of the life of Genghis Khan is not only one of the most beautifully shot (by Rogier Stoffers and Sergei Trofimov) and lushly costumed (by Karin Lohr) films of the last 6.7 years; it’s also the best action movie since Attila the Hulk. Also, added bonus point: In the movie Iron Man, there are a number of Genghis Khan references, so to understand Iron Man, you really have to see Mongol. It’s sort of a prequel to Iron Man. But most importantly, it’s an epic in the old style, with hordes of Mongol horsemen turning central Asia into the bloodbath we all know it could be. While Mongol is being marketed as an art film, and it’s every bit as thoughtfully photographed and historically interesting enough to be one, it’s really just cinema doing what it does best: setting up, motivating and then explicitly displaying big Mongolian dudes on horses cutting each other in half with swords.