Rise Of The Conqueror arrives on Digital on April 14 from Well Go USA.
Mongolian stories still share an important space in my coverage purview, so imaginably director Jacob Schwarz might have seen me coming with his latest, Rise Of The Conqueror. Schwarz also wrote the script with Matthew Greene, as well as the film’s star, Christian Mortensen, someone who is relatively new on my radar as I now find myself on the verge of a tangential subject matter pertinent to representation.
Indeed, seeing an American actor at the forefront of a Central Asian epic isn’t something I would have expected to see in 2026. The same thing can be invariably stated about a LOT else in what’s been an unquestionably uneasy year, which is also to say that as far as the enjoyment of cinema goes, Schwarz’s Rise Of The Conqueror does manage to check some of the boxes for a production as sizeable and demanding as this.
Carrying on with themes of loyalty, betrayal and redemption, Rise Of The Conqueror follows warrior and father-to-be Timur Barlas (Mortensen) on his quest to fulfill the Khan’s wishes and serve as an advisor to Ilyas (Joshua Jo). What follows is a startling betrayal that thrusts Timur into exile, wounded and leaving him to the devices of Banu (Arazou), a warrior who leads a band of migrant fighters on the Silk Road, as well as a Timur’s truest test yet in lieu of an unraveling mystery dating back to an unsolved assassination a decade earlier.
Schwarz crafts a stimulating tale of action and intrigue with a palatable cast and a story that brilliantly recapitulates by the end. It’s an eyeful of an epic hybrid of action drama and war strategy, punctuated by a peculiar board game piece that becomes a recurring symbol, lending its significance to Timur’s development as the story progresses and his character is put through the ringer.
We watch as Timur tackles battlefield scrimmages and close quarters – something the opening sequence is quick to showcase along with the equally skilled efforts of his wife, Aljai (Yulduz Rajabova) before she’s sidelined well into the first half. Co-star Mahesh Jadu is amazing in this film as well in a role that will certainly have you thinking, compared to the outward villany portrayed by Joshua Jo in the role of Ilyas, all culminating key aspects of a story in which a protagonist is forced to test just how much of his loyalty he’s willing to contribute to a cause before he fully realizes the true nature of the people in his circle.
The film also promises some great supporting performances by Sayed who plays Timur’s lieutenant, as well as a brief appearances by Marjit Assan who plays Timur’s uncle, Hadji, and even Paul Marlon who plays James, one of Banu’s warriors. I’m keen to credit Zhaidarbek Kunguzhinov for the amazing stunt and fight scene coordination this film offers as well, as characteristic as its become for Central Asian productions in their aptitude for big scale action design for many a production. If you’ve seen or enjoyed other relevant Well Go USA releases he’s worked on like The Legend Of Tomiris or Furious, you get the idea.
Rise Of The Conqueror deserves its flowers for a number of reasons. I’ll leave it to the viewer to consider whether or not aspects of casting are a core issue, but it’s worth discussing as the inescapable elephant in the room, especially since most of its in English for some reason and I’m nary motivated to believe this is passable even a decade after Netflix’s “Marco Polo”. Maybe it’s all about taste and it’s just me. I don’t know. All I can say is the good news is that with that this discussion comes tacked on to a worthwhile epic that will grant you a promising historical war epic with a peripheral spotlight on Central Asian cinema.
