This is the story of the life of the great queen of the steppe – legendary Tomiris. She is destined to become a skillful warrior, survive the loss of close people, and unite the Scythian/Saka tribes under her authority.
Tomiris (Almira Tursyn) is the daughter of a chief, and even though he wished for a son, Chief Spargap (Murat Bisenbin) loves his daughter. He teaches her how to become a warrior. But when her father dies as a rival tribe takes over his lands, Tomiris must flee from her home and is forced to live in the woods. She becomes hardened having to live on her own until she discovers an Amazonian-like tribe full of women warriors who take her in.
I’m not too versed in Persian history, so it was interesting to see a movie take place during this time period as we don’t really get many films of that in the U.S. Tomris herself isn’t Persian, but she is credited for bringing down the Persian king, Cyrus II. The film is executed as a typical, paint-by-numbers biopic that tries to cram everything about her life in a 2-and-a-half-hour run-time.
I found “The Legend of Tomiris” to be repetitive and too long. There is no doubt that Tomiris is a worthy protagonist and has an interesting story. Her dexterity and strength are qualities to be admired, but there is not much character given to her, other than she is supposed to be badass. Her motivation is what we have seen a million times before in action films, revenge for her father’s wrongful death. It felt to me like the filmmakers were simply checking off Tomiris’s accomplishments and did not bother to actually develop her character past being a vengeful orphan.
With the help of her tribe of women warriors, Tomiris eventually finds love, gets to reclaim the land she was driven away from, and becomes a queen. When Tomiris becomes queen, it feels like the climax of the film, but it turns out we have another hour to go. And it’s here that things got hard to sit through as Cyrus enters the film. Why this should be where the most tension is felt in the film, the third act just feels boring as strategies are being discussed and the epic final battle feels lackluster.
The production design, costumes, and fighting scenes were well done. The action did not blow me away, though. The stunt work is impressive, but there are a few battle scenes in the film that blended together. I believe the acting was decent all around, but similar to the action, no one’s performance stood out. If there was more development given to the characters, I am sure the actors would have impressed me more and I would be more invested in the film.
Usually, a film about a female warrior and eventual queen, with an all women-warrior tribe, would be right up my alley, but the film just felt lacking. “The Legend of Tomiris” served as an introduction to Queen Tomiris to me but reading about her on Google felt more interesting and rewarding than watching this film.
Available on Blu-ray™, DVD & Digital September 29th
