Good and wide-sweeping epic

Rating: 8/10 (12 June 2006)

A look into the life of one of history's greatest figures. From young boy and student to young man and world conqueror with everything in between.
Unfairly bashed, even before its release, due politics over sexuality among others and then bashed, once again, during its theatrical run by an action blockbuster hungry audience. I guess Ridley Scott's Gladiator and Wolfgang Peterson's Troy have set the end-all blueprint for prehistorical epics. Those films weren't bad at all, but they were much simpler and conventional than Alexander. The heroes in those movies were strong men doing what strong men in the ancient world did: kick ass. Achilles was a warrior, General Maximus was a warrior, but Alexander wasn't just a warrior. He was a reformer/politician, a lover, a drunkard, and all sorts of other things in addition. Granted that General Maximus was also more than just a soldier, the film Gladiator doesn't present him as much more. Well there is a bit of husband/father in there and the vengeance motive.
The point is that with Alexander, Oliver Stone has tried to take a mighty historical figure and show as many sides of him as possible while staying true to historical context. That resulted in something unlike what most people expected. The supposedly "dumb gay scenes," as I have heard them called, are not dumb at all. It is very easy to see that the film takes place in a different world and there were different societal standards and acceptances. In reading even parts of The Illiad you can see that Troy, while a well produced adaptation, is actually not that great. It is summer blockbuster that is entertaining, but very very deviated from the source material to fit today's standards and acceptances. Alexander isn't a film to try to "fit in" and sweep the box office with huge ticket sales, but it presents much more closely from the history books and that makes it much more of a thinking man's movie. Before seeing this movie, you have to open your mind more so than you think is necessary.
Sure there are annoyances here and there, most notably Angelina Jolie's accent - why is she the only one with it? But it isn't that important, many movies have much bigger errors that are written off with "Hey, it's just for fun." And that's OK in most movies, but this film isn't just for fun. Looking at Oliver Stone's filmography that shouldn't come as a surprise that he isn't the type to make "just for fun" movies. He tries to present situations and people from a thought out and true perspective without doses of eye candy and/or money shots.
In the end, this isn't a stellar film that will go down in history all by itself, but rather a good addition to Stone's body of work. It is with that, that this film will be remembered by. 8/10
Rated R: violence