Alexander Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)December 6th, 2004
"Alexander" The Not-So-Great
Oh, what an uneven movie. Oliver Stone's misguided epic seems to want to pay homage to a legendary conqueror. But like Alexander the Great (Colin Farrell) who continually pushes himself wherever the wind may take him, the film can't find any footing and it spends 3 long hours trying to get a grip on its subject material.
If only it was half as good as the
cinematography, which shows that movie magic can just about recreate anything these days. Pretty are the renderings of the glorious, ancient city Alexandria, with its grand shoreline and its engineering masterpiece – the Lighthouse of Alexandria. And, the creation of the fabled city of Babylon is also notable, complete with their wondrous Hanging Gardens.
As the film opens, we meet Ptolemy (Anthony
Hopkins) who recalls his younger days as he grew up with Alexander. Now, in his sunset years he dodders; he musters up his strength to thoughtfully select the right words; he sighs with regret at the fact that his salad days are long behind him. He takes this slow approach, I think, because he's setting the tonality of the film, which ambles forward telling its story.
"Alexander" takes us from The Great's earliest childhood. We watch him absorb the teachings of Aristotle. We see the moment when Alexander tames his wild horse Bucephalus. We learn about his fascination with ancient Greek warrior Achilles and his male lover, Patroclus. He is at his peak when he orchestrates a great victory against the stronger Persian army.
However, Alexander's youth is certainly more indicative of a future leader than the man he eventually becomes. And we follow him until his final undoing in India at age 32 when hubris and bad judgment ultimately spelled his demise. He has a growing obsession with his best friend, Hephaistion (Jared Leto). He takes on a wife (Rosario Dawson) who is not of his race. He recklessly leads his troops over impassable mountains and inhospitable jungles. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to his actions.
Consequently, Alexander doesn't seem like the inspired leader that tens of thousands would follow to the ends of the world. Portrayed in this film, he's more like Alexander the Aloof.
Or perhaps Alexander the Madman. Or even Alexander the Impulsive. Additionally, there's an annoying sense of déjà vu. That feeling arises if you've seen "Troy" or "LOTR: Return of the King," where parallels are sure to be noticed. While "Alexander" has its nice moments, it doesn't seem very original.
Given its title, "Alexander" should be more of an exclamation. You envision Achilles of "Troy" or General Maximus of "Gladiator". But this character seems continually preoccupied and distracted. I suppose that you can't totally fault the gifted Director for this unimpressive final product. If the material is even remotely indicative of Alexander's meandering focus, then the film is just a victim of its subject material. Perhaps, what you see is really all that one can reasonably do. Yet if that's the case, this project should have been left at the drawing board.
Grade: C-
S: 2 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 3 out of 3
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