Marco Polo (Netflix Series)

ZombieWife

ZombieWife

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I didn't want to watch this. But I did. And I'm nearly done with season 1. I really enjoyed it. I don't know much about the Mongols or Kublai Khan or the Silk Road or Marco Polo, but I watched the heck out of this. I acknowledge that this is historical fiction, but man, I'm a sucker for this type of story.

Multiple character stories threaded in. Beautiful scenework.

The first episode felt a bit disjointed in pacing, but I'm so glad I hung in there. In my opinion, the episodes got progressively better.

Yes, there are some familiar tropes like the badass blind master and women who make fighting look beautiful and graceful. But heck if I cared.

Solid fight scenes. Decent intrigue and politicking.

The best, however, is how the relationship develops between Kublai Khan and Marco Polo. The actor playing Kublai Khan really makes this series for me. I have no idea if this is even remotely close to Kublai, but I really was pulled in by his thoughtfulness, diplomacy, and political tactics.

I dunno, I'm sure some of you will hate it, but yeah. I'd rank it up there with Vikings for me. A stunning opening title sequence as well.

Best news? It's on Netflix, so there's no waiting week-by-week.

Trailer (seems more over-the-top than it really is)

Opening title sequence
 
I saw the whole season in two days and it was another good reason to have netflix account. It was slow starting but after few eps the writing became much better and the characters so much more richer, more interesting. I enjoyed it alot for getting inside look on the mongol empire under Kubla Khan. It was really about their own story, history from Marcos POV. Seldom you see their culture, their empire building from the inside. It is always oh the Barbarians are coming to kill us POV from European angle.

Visually stunning and better looking than other historical, fantasy shows like Game of Thrones, Vikings.
 
Glad someone caught it! I really enjoyed it. It was visually beautiful! And the storylines came on their own time. It actually made me go look up things about Kubla Khan to learn about him.
 
Let us know what you think, Dave. Just remember it's historical fiction. :) But I think it's fun historical fiction.
 
I agree that the first episode is a bit disjointed but there is a lot of information to dump. It starts to become gripping somewhere in the second/third episode. Hence, the reason that I watched the first four episodes tonight in one sitting. The comparisons I've seen with Game of Thrones don't do it justice, it is something quite different; more like I, Claudius with battles. (And not as many old men dying as GoT.) I haven't seen The Vikings. I have no idea if it is historically accurate or not, but the scenery is spectacular. Any idea where it was filmed? There is a lot of CGI. The scene where they met for a truce with the walled city had those peculiar mountains in the background that you only find in Western China and IndoChina, but they could have been added CGI too. My son told me I would like it but I didn't want to get involved in another long series. Only ten episodes though, doesn't really seem long enough. I'd definitely recommend it. I'll be watching the rest within a week or so.
 
Awesome, Dave. Yeah, I think it gets better and better. The last episodes were my favorite.
 
It also reminds me of The Last King of Scotland. Marco Polo is dealing with a person who (from the viewpoint of his own culture, education and upbringing) is quite insane. On the other hand, Kublai Khan treats him with more respect than his own father ever did. I can see that this chemistry is likely to grow and change as I watch the rest of the series as it seems to be the backbone of the story, but that is the point I'm at right now.
 
I really enjoy their relationship. It's thoughfully done and well acted on part of the two men. That sense of safety, though, never quite sinks in for Marco, or so I believe. Making it a bit dangerous as well.
 
Finished watching the first season last night, it ended really well, I thought. Couldn't wait for the evil chancellor to get killed.
 
Yeah, he was a good adversary, though. It made me interested in the mantis Kung Fu action.

I loved the blind weapons master. He was awesome!

I hope we get a season 2.
 
Also watched to the end of Season 1. The Mongols are a bit divided. Victory is not very sweet. Looks good for next the Season. I thought it might get boring as the various threads had seemed to run to their ends.
 
I enjoyed the season and will watch season 2 should it appear. Marco himself isn't the most charismatic but I think he proved himself to Kublai. The Chinese Chancellor was definitely a stereotypical martial art master / powerplayer and it was satisfying to see him meet his end!
 
I agree, Mark. I didn't find Marco terribly ... charismatic, but perhaps this is part of his evolution into someone more so?
 
Is he meant to be younger than he looks?

He stowed away on the ship in a barrel, which makes more sense if he was a very young boy, and I think he mentioned that he was 9 when his father returned. So, if they travelled the silk road for say 5 or 6 years, enough time for him to learn languages, then he would still be a teenager. This idea would fit better with me and the idea that the Khan would treat him like a son.

The only problem is that from the beginning to the end he doesn't seem to age and looks to be in his late 20's. I think this might be the problem with you not warming to the character.
 
Interesting idea Dave.. perhaps I've forgotten but I didn't get the impression of him being that young when leaving Italy. And I thought it said 3 years for the time spent on the road??

I imagine s2 will focus on the Mongol factions more.

I really like the Mongolian throat singing which was featured in at least one episode, and within the credits. Such a cool sound!
 
Great series. Refreshing to see real sets and so little CGI. Looks like they spent some money to make it.
 
I stand corrected about the CGI. Apparently they filmed on location in Kazakhstan, Malaysia, and Venice. Those mountains that I mentioned were probably in Malaysia. I doubted that they had filmed in China. I expect they had to build all the fake Chinese-style pavillions and hire vast numbers of costumed extras. Which goes someway to explaining the reported $90 million to make the first season alone.

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/12/12/marco-polo-netflix/

You could tell the internal structure of the palace was Balsa wood when evil Chancellor fought with 'I can do Kung Fu' Marco Polo, as they smashed some to pieces.
 
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