Actuakers
One of my all time favorites.
Beystiman
It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.
AnhartLinkin
This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.
Mathilde the Guild
Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Leofwine_draca
MARCO POLO is a two part Hallmark TV miniseries chronicling the life and times of the famous Italian explorer who found himself at the court of Kublai Khan and famously wrote about his endless travels. Sadly the material is given an insipid, family-friendly feel in this resolutely silly and rather dull evocation of the material.The silliness is to be expected given the pedigree of British director Kevin Connor, who made the likes of AT THE EARTH'S CORE and THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT back in the 1970s - films that look like masterpieces in comparison to this dull-witted nonsense. The plot sort of slides from scene to scene, with lukewarm melodrama throughout and a distinct lack of realism despite location filming in China.Ian Somerhalder is completely wooden as the uninteresting lead, although BD Wong (the scientist chap from JURASSIC PARK) is a little better as his wise slave. The oddest casting choice comes in the form of the larger-than-life Brian Dennehy, playing Khan; surely the most inappropriate choice for playing a Mongol since John Wayne played Genghis back in the day? For what it's worth, I much preferred the Shaw Brothers martial arts extravaganza MARCO POLO made back in the 1970s, starring Richard Harrison as the erstwhile explorer.
nabilahjean
The Travels of Marco Polo is a vast and informative account of a fascinating journey. The book was, anyway. The movie was a pretty film, but I think the only thing it had in common with the original account is some of the character's names and China itself. It was like a PC morality play rather than a portrayal of the events in the book. All the fascinating things Polo did and saw and all we got is that silly movie? I am not going to complain about the acting. There was no soul in the script. I thought the young man who played Marco Polo was as good a fit as I would have expected, physically. I don't know what they were thinking of with Dennehy. He is a fine actor, but I don't think they did justice to the Chinese people by having an Irishman play one of China's major historical figures.
ilovebees3
I gave a 2 (instead of 1 - awful)because of the attentive grand costuming, scenic beauty, and the breathtaking Asian girl that is the love interest of Marco.But in this day and age it is outrageous that a Caucasian plays the Mongol king. Plus that incongruity continues to break the story flow thru out the movie. I was hoping to see a story that included more about the travels of Marco, the technological and cultural discoveries of the lands he visited. Instead, we get about 5 minutes of that, gunpowder its main obsession. The rest of the movie seems to be fabricated love triangles, invented King and Marco interactions, ridiculous "uprisings" with a smattering of poorly choreographed kung fu fights, internal convoluted political machinations with a sprinkling of "wise" Chinese sayings, and discussions of "freedom" that are extremely unlikely to have occurred. Save your money, save your time do not watch this movie unless you want to see a long boring soap opera.
diddy-11
Don't you just love the fact that everybody, and I mean everybody speaks English in this movie. Regardless if they're Italian merchants, afghan doctors, poor Mongol peasants, Mongol nobles or even Persian warriors. At first the actors at least speak with an accent. But further into the movie the actors forget to add the accent. I thought that the first problem an Italian guy would have when he arrives in 13th century China is to communicate, but not in this movie. The makers of the movie doesn't even pretend that there are difficulties in communicating, which is common in other movies, even if they both speak English.To add to the credibility of this movie the roll of Kublai Khan is played by Brian Dennehy. Don't get me wrong, I like Brian Dennehy as an actor. But he hardly looks like a Khan of the Mongol Empire. The makers of the movie, again, doesn't seem to care. At least his character gets old. Which is not something you could say about Marco Polo, played by Ian Somerhalder. The only difference in his appearance is when he's in the prison in Genoa. And the difference? You guessed it! They add more beard to his face.Overall a very bad movie. It's not worth wasting your time on.