The Mongolian Connection

Can't say that I would have enjoyed the 3-hour-long director's cut, but this wasn't the worst cliched action movie I've ever seen -- far from it. It's a movie we've seen countless times before, but it was a lot better than most of the '70s and '80s action flicks it harks back to.

Guess it's the Mongolian charm?

I liked this movie even though I don't often see action movies the choice of funny and ironic dialogues made this movie very enjoyable... I loved Serik I could listen to him for hours while he talks... I loved the kiss , a small gesture that for me clearly explained the choice of Serik To conclude I recommend everyone to see it.

As we all know, American cinema has been pretty much dead for a while now, killed by greedy studios, boring franchise sequels and political correctness. So we're forced to look elsewhere, to South Korea in particular, but Mongolians, whoever saw that coming? This movie is low budget, has no star power and while not too original, it's competently directed and edited and the end result is surprisingly watchable and better overall than most non American crime thrillers. And American ones for that matter, if we leave out Dragged Across Concrete.

The novelty of watching an action film predominantly shot in Mongolia, with mostly Mongolian actors, is certainly an initial draw. But if the movie doesn't grab you in the first few minutes, that novelty wears off and you'll probably move on. But that is certainly not the case with THE MONGOLIAN CONNECTION. This has the look, feel and edge of a 1970s action film. There is a grittiness to the proceedings but also a beauty in the choreography of the action scenes. Director Drew Thomas knows his way around an action scene, and you'll find that out within the first ten minutes. As we all know, most shootouts are a bore. We've seen millions. But watch the first one in this film and don't tell me you don't see touches of Brian DePalma. In a later car chase scene (again, we've seen millions), you'll be reminded of Friedkin's FRENCH CONNECTION scene. Maybe that's going overboard for a lower budget genre action picture, but you'll notice this film is made with care. You'll care about the characters, and there is some humor. A lot of these action pix forget to throw that in, or they lay it on with a trowel. This has just the right amount to make it work, but then it gets back down to dirty business. A very intriguing film and well-worth checking out.

As a moviegoer, you're always looking for that surprise thrill from a movie you have heard nothing or very little about. Holy moly - this was it. Non-stop action from front to back, and the fight choreography in particular was exceptional (coming from someone who grew up on John Woo films). The whole thing seemed like it was made for more money than it likely was. Think of it as the "Midnight Run" of Mongolia.

Kaiwi Lyman was a standout among the cast (his comedic chops were spot on), but don't sleep on Sanjar Madi or Amarsaikhan Baljinnyam, one of Mongolia's most feted actors. All three of them were great, and the chemistry between them was clear. I'm going to keep my eye out for all of them, but mostly I'll be curious to see what director Drew Thomas does next.

Really solid movie. Glad I found it.