Furious

Overall, it was a fun, action-packed rendition of a Russian folk-tale reminiscent of 300 while remaining true to the format of traditional Russian Folk-Tales. Please don't discount it because of historical inaccuracies as a believe you will be you will lose the chance to enjoy one of the few Russian folk-tales that is in a format palatable to us here in the US.Many of the one star reviews seem to be unaware or at the very least disregarding of Russian folk story telling. No its not historical. Neither are many of the stories surrounding King Arthur, Beowulf, Finn Mac Cuhaill, John Henry, nor many of the other legendary figures of Western-Europe and America. While most of the folk stories have a bit of historical basis at the end of the day they are still legend and/or exaggeration. Russian folk heroes (Bogatyri, a term used many times in the movie) are often times larger than life figures that in all likelihood did do something heroic in their time but as all tales that are passed on by word of mouth, especially of the dead, their stories are exaggerated with each retelling i.e John Henry. All of this to say that I think that while this movie contains many factual/historical inaccuracies, it held true to the Russian folk story format and that it shouldn't be a reason to discount this movie as propagandist trash. It never marketed itself to be a true story and if one gives it a bad review it should be for another reason beyond the story itself.Cinematically, it was not a masterpiece in any sense of the word but it was definitely fun and it was not hard to suspend one's sense of reality. The CGI was ok but you could still tell that it was in use at times. The acting in Russian was fairly well done and I personally don't remember any moments that took me out of enjoying the movie.Also, yes the movie does resemble 300. So do most movies and stories regarding historical last stands because most last stands that are worth making a movie about occurred similarly. You have a group of highly skilled warriors that trick or manipulate the enemy into fighting them on favorable ground leading to a disproportionate number of casualties on the side of whoever the attacker is, and to future battles/warriors calling back to the fateful battle in order to boost the morale of their side often leading to sweeping victories. This occurs in movies about the Alamo, William Wallace, the famous battle of Thermopylae, and many others. Even fantastical stories will copy this format ie Boromir's last stand and V for Vendetta. I will say that it would be very generous to say that the movie didn't at least take cues from 300.Do yourself a favor and DO NOT WATCH THE DUBBED VERSION. If you can't understand Russian, take the L and watch it with subtitles.

totally enjoyed the beautiful use of color! While it may not compare to the grand scope of the 50's & 60's epics...you can see the comparison's to the old classics. This movie along with some of its Russian counter parts are starting to eliminate the brazen propaganda aspects that are painfully obvious in the remake of " Turas Bulba" A.K.A. " The Conqueror." These newer Russian & Chinese films are doing far more than competing with their Hollywood rivals...they are actually surpassing the multi-million dollar Hollywood budget films, because they are more accurately depicting the period costumes & general set designs! This has a lot to do with their superior knowledge of ancient archeology & brilliant use of cinematography! People often forget that Germany & other European film makers were far ahead of Hollywood in the early days of movie making. Now we are starting to see a resurgence of the European film makers. I consider this a plus, forcing Hollywood to no longer depend on big budget C.G.I. film production & forcing them to go back to good old fashion story telling. This straight forward competition will do nothing less than offer movie goers movies of stronger substance all the way around. This will lead to nothing less than better movies for film goers to enjoy! Better story telling , better cinematography, and better movie craftsmanship in general competing on a world wide stage! Furious is loosely based on historical fact...which I tend to believe produces the best in film making, there is a endless wealth of factual historically accurate tales that haven't been put forth by film makers that would not only dazzle movie goers but would also educate them to our rich & fantastic history! As the old saying goes truth is stranger than fiction! As our world gets more competitive as far as film making goes, I see nothing but bigger & better films waiting to be produced!

Furious is the retelling of an ancient tale about the siege of Ryazan and the bogatyr Evpaty Kolovrat who seeks to avenge it.With little fantasy element, we see a small military crew combatting the Golden Horde of the Mongrols. Without much background, one would find it confusing to see, before the fighting pops off, a group of older men used as table legs for Baku Khan's feasting table.I would argue that the giant and fantastical bear is a natural inhabit of the land so the war against the mongrels is as much his war as it is the Ryazan citizens.With Serj Tankian's more aggressive score adding to the wonder and excitement of the ancient landscape, I thought it was an enjoyable adventure, though not as hopeful as one would want it to be.As far as bogatyrs go, I would have expected a more hulking, energetic, and talkative hero of intimidating and patriotic stature. But I believe the creators of the movie stated they wanted to go more in the realm of fairy tales than the historical element.The last stand here reminds me of 13 Assassin's (great epic showdown), the Magnificent 7, 300, and Seven Samurai.

Things Kolovrat (released as Furious over here for some reason) does not deliver: Strong female characters. Balanced gender relations. Considered portrayals of other cultures. Well developed antagonists.What Kolovrat delivers: Gorgeous snowscapes. Epic battles. Dual-wielded swords. Battle bears. Nationalism. Russian humour.Lots of Russian humour.To approach Kolovrat hoping for intellectual stimulation or any form of subtlety is almost certainly the wrong approach, and will certainly lead to disappointment. If you want the pure spectacle of a small band of slavs battling the Mongol invasion, Kolovrat delivers, and for that I award it 4 stars.

Much better than I expected. Would thoroughly recommend

Poor story line

Ok but in Russian

Perfect.Fast delivery