Alexander
(2004)
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Alexander, the King of Macedonia and one of the greatest military leaders in the history of warfare, conquers much of the known world. |
Director Oliver Stone has spent 15 years trying to bring the story of military genius Alexander the Great to the big screen. How sad then that an obvious labour of love should end up such a pompous and flaccid affair. An epic only in its running time, the film presents key events in the life of the golden-haired Macedonian conqueror (played by Colin Farrell), each lazily linked by the reminiscences of his ageing general, Ptolemy (Anthony Hopkins). As Alexander's obsessive empire building progresses, the visual detail is meticulous, crowned by two remarkable battle sequences. However, this sterling work is undone by preposterous dialogue and some leaden performances. Stone tries hard to inject passion and high drama, adding a Freudian back story with mother Olympias (Angelina Jolie) and bravely embracing Alexander's assumed bisexuality. Yet, like his subject, the director is overly ambitious, constipating his feature with too much material and never really doing justice to any of it.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Ambitious epic that suffers from miscasting in crucial roles; too much information is provided in a voice-over that turns the drama into an illustrated lecture.