Oscar Caliber Acting Lends a Helping Hand to an Otherwise Tedious Movie

Rating: 6/10 (2 January 2005)

At times this movie seemed little more than an outrageously expensive History Channel documentary with an A-list Hollywood cast. However, Colin Farrell did an excellent job at portraying Alexander, he has definitely proved himself to be a deeper actor than many thought he could be. This type of role is definitely out of the ordinary for him, and i think this Irish actor proved himself more than worthy of it. At times, this movie lacks the female touch, but this is understandable because Alexander was at war much of his grown life, where women were typically not found. Angelina Jolie, however, gives a top-notch performance, actually making Alexander's life away from the battlefield worth focusing on. Her character demands to be noticed every minute she is on the screen and she blends just the right amount of sinister evil and motherly love to keep you guessing just how honest her intentions are. Val Kilmer, although barely recognizable underneath scars and a hefty stomach, also gives an excellent performance. His role as Alexander's father puts him in an awkward position to audience members as we recognize that he is mainly a negative impact on Alexander's training as opposed to a father figure. Although I would have liked to see more of a warrior from his character we can not fault the actor, but rather the writers for this omission. Although Farrell gets most of the screen time in this movie, the supporting actors are oftentimes what keeps the audience watching from one scene to the next.