Third time lucky, Stone delivers an epic

Rating: Null/10 (7 January 2011)

Oliver Stone's latest version of Alexander follows the King of Macedonia from childhood to adulthood, leading his men against the Persian Empire. He then pushes his army across the world further than any Westerner, but has he gone too far?
Stone revisits this historical epic, without the interference of the studio executives, critics and such gives him the opportunity to deliver his third and 'final cut' of Alexander. It's 213 minutes of bad road which isn't a negative,this only means it's a tougher journey but in an all terrain vehicle. This is a longer, intense, more deeply explored version of the story and characters.
It still contains the alleged faults of the previous versions, accents, wigs, casting etc. But these are easy targets for the casual viewer or critic. There are admittedly some larger than life performances, but there is also some great subtle and fine cameos from both Christopher Plumber and Anthony Hopkins. Leads and supporting cast include Jolie, Farrell, Dawson and Leto, to name a few who are all exceptional.
What you have is an epic film with a multitude of characters and story layers. Despite the supposed historical inaccuracies it is a well constructed and entertaining movie that has an understated score, great effects, sets, fantastic locations, make-up and costumes. Stone proves he is still at the top of his game, with every shot capturing a perfect moment in time. While less commercially glossy than Troy (2004), it is more in the tone of Ridley Scott's also criticised Kingdom of Heaven (2005).
All in all Alexander Revisited the Final Cut is a solid film of epic grandeur like the story of the man himself.