Welcome back to Movie Recaps. Today I will show you an action,
adventure film from 2017, titled Furious. Spoilers ahead! Watch out and take care.
In 1223, shortly after the Battle of the Kalka River between the Mongols and various
Rus' principalities, a group of Russian men are traveling through the forest to hunt. Two of them
have brought their children: Nastya, a girl that likes to play the flute, and Kolovrat, a boy that
dreams of becoming a warrior and the prince's guard. Unfortunately, they're suddenly ambushed
by a group of Mongolian soldiers led by Commander Khostovrul. After losing her flute, Nastya takes a
horse to town to ask for help while Kolovrat stays back, trying to fight as well. All the Russian
men are killed and Kolovrat grabs two swords to defend himself, but before he can do anything,
Khostovrul throws bolas at his neck and knocks him out. Fourteen years later, an adult Kolovrat wakes
up tied to a bed with no memories and freaks out. Older Nastya is used to this reaction and rushes
to his side to explain everything: the Mongols had left him for dead so Kolovrat got to survive, now
he's a foreman in the prince's guard, he's married to Nastya and they've had two children together.
Hearing these words and walking around the house helps Kolovrat remember, but he doesn't even get
to have breakfast before one of his soldiers, Karkun, comes to pick him up to go to the city
walls. When they arrive there, Prince Yuri of Ryazan asks Kolovrat for his advice on what to
do about the men on horses that are approaching the city. Because they can't see their flags yet,
Kolovrat tells them to wait before attacking, and this turns out to be the smart thing to do:
it's not the Mongols, it's another prince and his men that have come for the christening of Yuri's
grandson. Afterward, Kolovrat takes over the training of the soldiers. Yuri's son Fedor arrives
late because he was busy with the preparations for the christening of his son, of whom Kolovrat will
be the godfather. Kolovrat asks him to show his skills and Fedor gladly takes the challenge, but
he only ends up embarrassing himself and leaving. Once training is over, Kolovrat returns home with
gifts for his family: a little hedgehog for his kids, and a new flute for his wife that he's
carved himself. Nastya loves it and puts it in a box to keep it safe, but inside that box, Kolovrat
finds dozens of flutes because he's carved one for her every day and keeps forgetting about it.
Later, the christening ceremony is interrupted by a citizen announcing that the Mongols are coming.
Everyone runs to hide, but Kolovrat stays with the baby until the priest is done with his blessing.
After Yuri and his men notice the huge amount of soldiers the Mongols are bringing,
they give orders to close the gates and not let anyone leave until they decide what to do.
The prince holds a meeting to discuss the problem - Fedor thinks that their Russian warriors are
better so they could defeat the Mongols even while outnumbered, while other advisers think
they should pay tribute. This would leave the city poor but at least they would survive. Yuri decides
to buy time to see if they can ask neighboring cities for help, so he wants Fedor to take the
best guards and go negotiate with the Mongols. Meanwhile, Kolovrat leaves the meeting in the
middle of it to check the state of the city, where everyone is panicking and running to find shelter.
He bumps into a medicine man called Zakhar that begs Kolovrat to allow him to go out in exchange
for potions, but Kolovrat reminds him that the city is surrounded and there's no escape.
Afterward, he returns home only to find Yuri there with an order: Kolovrat must gather his men and go
with Fedor to see the Mongols. Kolovrat doesn't think it's a good idea because of his memory
issues, and Nastya agrees with him, breaking down into tears and begging the prince to reconsider.
However, Kolovrat is the man Yuri trusts the most, so he doesn't change his mind.
The soldiers gather near the gates to get going. Karkun is going as well, and since they'll need a
translator, Kolovrat chooses Zakhar to come too because he understands the Mongols' language.
Still worried about her husband, Nastya brings over their maid Lada, who just learned how to
help Kolovrat in the mornings so she can go with him while Nastya stays home with the kids.
Once their wagon is loaded with riches, the group takes off and travels to the Mongolian camp, where
they're directed to the tent of their leader Batu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan. Their offerings
are well received so they're invited to sit and share some drinks, and they take the chance to
ask the Mongols what they want. Batu Khan says he wants nothing and the Russians came uninvited,
but he's curious about their people so he'll have Ryazan as his first Russian city. Every man that
kneels to Batu Khan will be well-fed, but Fedor replies by saying he wants to see Batu Khan kneel
instead. This is taken as an insult so Kolovrat, who has been staring at Batu's big map, stands up
and comes in Fedor's defense, announcing their city will only be taken over their dead bodies.
Batu Khan claims he'll never kneel for anyone, but he respects Kolovrat's guts, so he gifts him
a talisman with a letter of transit. This letter allows a person to walk through enemy territory
without being attacked or harassed. Then, Batu Khan invites them to watch a little show while
they enjoy their drinks. This is a trick to distract the Russians so the Mongols can ambush
them, but the plan doesn't work. The table is being held by Russian slaves and they see the
Mongols approach, so they warn their countrymen just in time. A fight ensues and Kolovrat takes
everyone out of the tent, including the slaves, and they slash their way through a bunch of
soldiers in order to steal some horses and run to the forest. Sadly, Fedor is hit by an arrow,
so he decides to stay behind to buy his friends some time and is killed by Khostovrul. Batu Khan
doesn't think they're worth pursuing and orders the horde to get ready for an attack instead.
A few hours later, Kolovrat's group is having trouble crossing the forest because of an extreme
snowstorm. Suddenly, they're approached by a giant bear, but the animal doesn't attack because it's
under the control of fellow Russian Nestor. This man takes them to a huge cave so they can rest
until the storm is over, but Kolovrat refuses to sleep and asks Nestor for a potion that can keep
him awake for the sake of his memories. However, Nestor refuses to prepare such a thing because he
thinks waking up every morning with no memories is a blessing that lets you start your life anew.
Kolovrat tries his best to stay awake in front of the fire and realizes he still remembers the
map he saw back in the tent, so he writes it down before he forgets. Once the weather calms down,
the group leaves, leaving Nestor behind in his cave. However by the time they return to Ryazan,
it's too late: the Mongols have already destroyed the city. Most of the buildings have been hit by
catapults, the main bell has fallen from its rope, Yuri was killed by archers, Fedor's wife decided
to jump with the baby before getting caught, and Nastya with the kids stayed in the house until it
collapsed from a fire. After finding the flute he carved among the ruins of his home, Kolovrat
gathers his men and together they raise the bell again to make it ring so any survivors will come
out from their hideouts. There aren't many people left, and various of these survivors are children.
Suddenly, someone announces that the Mongols are coming to finish them off,
so Kolovrat quickly makes a plan. While everyone hides, he stays under the bell and pretends to
let the Mongols capture him, but as soon as they come closer, Kolovrat attacks. His dual-wielding
of two swords in a circular motion is extremely effective and kills many enemies in seconds,
and once Kolovrat has lowered their numbers, his men come out and help him finish them off.
Now that the fight is over, Kolovrat comes up with a plan. He sends three messengers to warn
the neighboring cities and ask for their help, and the children will be sent to hide in Nestor's
cave. Kolovrat and the soldiers will try to make the horde turn around and keep them distracted,
they only need to figure a way to do that. Thankfully, Zakhar has an idea:
he prepares a special potion that they pour into the water the Mongols are drinking from,
making them all sick. To make sure they get the message, Kolovrat tears off part of the
letter of transit and ties it to an arrow that he shoots at the camp for Khostovrul to find.
The commander sends some soldiers after Kolovrat's group to get revenge for the water, but it's all a
trap: the Russian soldiers are expecting them and easily kill them with their arrows. Once they're
safe, Kolovrat passes out, not being able to stay awake any longer after three days of not sleeping.
While the group sets up camp, Lada ties Kolovrat to a tree and watches over him while praying to
the gods that he falls for her. When night falls, Lada wakes Kolovrat up so he can eat something.
However, she unties him before she's done reciting all the important facts for him to remember,
so Kolovrat escapes and attacks his friends. It takes quite a number of men to hold him down,
and it's thanks to Karkun's words that Kolovrat comes to his senses. Then,
Kolovrat apologizes to his brothers-in-arms and comforts a crying Lada. Meanwhile, two messengers
safely leave the area and reach the neighboring cities, but when they talk to the princes,
they refuse to help, preferring to stay behind and protect their homes. The third messenger
is hurt and passes out on top of the horse, so the animal gets lost and takes the wrong road.
The following night, Kolovrat and his men sneak inside the Mongolian camp wearing costumes and
face paint to make them think they're spirits. Some soldiers run away and the Russians kill
the ones that don't to then use the catapults to attack the Mongols with their own weapons.
Before leaving, Kolovrat leaves another arrow with a piece of the letter so Khostovrul knows
who did this. As revenge, the Mongols capture the lost messenger to torture him. Kolovrat and
his men hide in the forest and go to sleep early, confident that they'll get help in the morning.
Lada tries to lay down next to Kolovrat, unaware he's awake, so when he turns to look at her,
she thinks he's waking up and begins reciting the memories. This includes pretending to be Nastya,
but Kolovrat calls out her lie before hugging her and reminding her she's all he's got left from
home. When morning comes, Kolovrat goes deeper into the forest to check some weird noises,
unaware that Lada is following him. That's how he finds the third messenger's dead body, which was
left there as a trap: now Kolovrat finds himself surrounded by Mongols. While Lada runs back to
camp to ask for help, Khostovrul watches with awe how Kolovrat fights all the soldiers on his
own as a snowstorm begins blowing around him. The commander tries to stop him with his bolas like
he did years ago, but this time, Kolovrat stops them with his sword. As the storm gets worse,
Nestor and the bear arrive, killing a bunch of Mongols and scaring the survivors away.
When the soldiers return to their camp, they tell terrifying stories of what they just saw.
Khostovrul hadn't believed the trick of the spirits, but now he's seen Kolovrat command
a storm and a bear, he's starting to believe as well. Batu Khan is disappointed by his men for
believing such things and orders his army to turn around, determined to find a way to prove
there's nothing magical about this war. Back to the Russians, Nestor frees the bear and joins
Kolovrat's army, he's also brought a few men with him from nearby villages. The group celebrates
when Karkun returns with some good news: just like they planned, the Mongols are turning around and
following them instead of going after the other cities. There's only one problem left: the sleigh
full of children Nestor had been taking care of in his cave. Following Zakhar's idea, Kolovrat
decides that the group will stay behind and hold the line while Karkun takes Lada and the children
to the river. There, they can host the sail on the sleigh and travel faster than any horse.
This way, the survivors can rebuild a new Ryazan in the future. After the sleigh leaves,
the men begin working on various traps and wait at the top of a hill for the Mongols to arrive. When
Batu Khan finally gets there, he brings an immense army with him and wastes no time in sending some
men after the Russians. This first attack fails because the soldiers fall for the traps and the
archers, which make it difficult for the Mongols to climb up the hill. Meanwhile, Karkun finds the
road blocked, so he frees the horse and asks Lada and the kids to help him push the sleigh through.
The battle at the hill continues. The Mongols shoot their arrows too and after taking down a few
Russians, they finally climb up and begin fighting Kolovrat's men hand to hand. Nestor and Zakhar
die while Khostovrul comes for their leader, but Kolovrat easily defeats him with a clean cut of
his two swords. The Mongols still outnumber them though, so the Russian soldiers slowly fall one
by one, but at least they protect the hilltop long enough for Karkun to reach the river. However, he
finds a little problem: the knot around the sail is frozen and they don't have any fire. Lada makes
the kids breathe over the frost, which frees the rope and allows them to release the sail, so now
they can escape safely. With only a few men left, Kolovrat defeats the remaining Mongols at the top
of the hill and puts ups his flag. Batu Khan feels like they're being ridiculed and sends a messenger
to find out what the Russians want, but Kolovrat gives him back the same words they received a few
days ago: they want nothing and the Mongols came here uninvited. As a furious Batu Khan orders
his men to fire the catapults, Kolovrat notices the sleigh sail at the river, celebrating the
survivors have managed to escape right before he's knocked out by a rock. When he wakes up
seconds later, Kolovrat has all his memories, but finds all his men dead. As a last honorable move,
he goes down the hill, protecting himself from any attack by showing the talisman. Kolovrat
falls to the ground and tells Batu Khan one day his people will have their revenge, then drops
the talisman on the snow, asking the Mongolian leader to take it back. Batu Khan does as asked
and Kolovrat smirks, pointing out he did make Batu Khan kneel for him after all before dying.
Batu Khan is impressed by Kolovrat's heroics, saying this would be the warrior he trusted the
most if he were one of his, then asks his men to give him a hero's burial. Five years later, Karkun
is the leader of the Novgorod-Vladimir army. He inspires his men by reminding them of Kolovrat's
sacrifice and noble fight before guiding them into what would become known as the Battle on the Ice.