A L E X A N D E R

Review

The story of Alexander The Great's life provides plenty of material for a real epic movie. Born, 300 years before Christ, in Macedonia, Alexander was a brilliant military leader who defeated armies far larger than his. By the age of 33 he had lead his army on a seven-year march conquering cities and nations. His empire included Greece, Turkey, Egypt and India. This great warrior was renowned for never having lost a battle and his story has been etched in history forever. As the movie posters say "The greatest legend of all was real".

Director Oliver Stone certainly had the material to work with but putting it together to produce an epic movie is another matter and unfortunately the story simply isn't told that well. It's a big budget production with fantastic detailed scenes and sets but the story rambles on and on and intrigue in this mighty conqueror fades quickly. In the end it is so drawn out that almost all interest is gone and it just gets boring. I felt like I had been on Alexander's seven year march! At the very least, 40 minutes could have been shaved off to keep the story flowing and hold the audiences' interest.

The story starts with Alexander as a child and every so often skips forward a few years. However towards the end of the movie the story skips back in time to fill in one of the gaps. I didn't think this worked very well and felt that the movie would have been far better if the story had been told in chronological order.

Another problem with the movie was the accents. I'm not sure what a Macedonian accent should be like but the numerous Irish and Scottish accents seemed out of place. Even Val Kilmer slipped into an Irish accent in one scene when he was buying a horse from Irish actor Mick Lally. The script too was a little corny in parts.

Colin Farrell plays Alexander and Angelina Jolie his mother, Olympias. Alexander's father, King Philip of Macedonia, is played by Val Kilmer.

Jared Leto plays Hephaistion, Alexander's closet friend and Macedonian Commander. The story portrays Alexander as bi-sexual and Hephaistion as someone he loved. 

The Bottom Line: Great scenes and sets with fantastic detail. Plenty of material for an intriguing story but the story isn't told well. It rambles on and on and becomes boring. If you enjoyed Troy, The Last Samurai (Recommended) or The Patriot you might enjoy Alexander.

Reviewed by Niall Quinn, Premier Movie Reviews 2005.

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Genre: Historic Action

Director: Oliver Stone

Certificate: Alexander was rated 15A by the Irish Film Censor's Office (www.ifco.ie). The film contains bloody battle scenes and moderate sexual content.

Official Movie Website: Alexander

~ Main Cast ~

Colin Farrell

Angelina Jolie

Val Kilmer

Rosario Dawson

Jared Leto

Anthony Hopkins

RATING

ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO