"Emperor of the North" has all the ingredients to be a great movie. It has a good premise, a great cast and good look. This movie has more than a few great moments but, overall, it misses the mark. The biggest problem in this movie, as much as I love him, is Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine is one of the greats. He could play good guys just as well as he played bad guys. Unfortunately, under the direction of the often overpraised Robert Aldrich, Borgnine is not allowed to play a character. He plays a screaming, glaring bear, an ogre. As a result, Borgnine's character isn't that interesting a villain. Much of the rest of the cast has a nice moment or two. The always reliable Borgnine doesn't have any, not really. It's a shame. "Emperor of the North" is a watchable, almost enjoyable, near miss.
Review of Emperor of the North
