Out of the gutter.

Rating: 10/10 (24 November 2004)

Alexander is taking a lot of crap from people who say it was boring, too long, too talky, and things like that. I guess Alexander could not be expected to be 100% historically accurate but for a movie that aims to encapsulate some highlights of Alexander's life it is not that bad. Yes, there is a lot of talking and yes the film spends a lot of time dealing with Alexander's personal conflicts but why can't people deal with the more emotional, personal side instead of needing to see endless battle scenes with little dialogue?
Another thing that bothers me is that there are some people who are making a stink about the portrayal of love between men in the film. I mean, seriously, there were certainly a few scenes where the men show and tell that they love each other but there was no sex or major kissing going on. On the other hand, there was an extended fight scene between a naked Roxanne and almost naked Alexander that nobody is talking about. Early on in the movie, there is dialogue about where Alexander's mother recognized his penchant for boys and tells him about the things he must do in public for show and how they are different that what he does in private. Anyway, it just bothers me that a film cannot even show muted affection between two men without drawing comments from homophobes. I really think this aspect my be a driving force behind why people don't like the movie. I've heard people say that there was "just something about" the movie they didn't like and I think that is what it is.
Anyway, I liked the movie. Yeah, it was talky and a bit drawn out, but overall it was not horrible. Maybe it will inspire some people to do some of their own research on Alexander the Great.
Lastly, it's nice to see that Stone didn't compromise for the big box office receipts. I am pleased that he told the truth of ATG life. I would rather have accuracy than a lot of fluff.