If you can get patrons to fight their kidneys to stay in the seats and feel any emotion for the characters being played then that regardless of anything else gets you 9 out of 10 stars with me.

Rating: 9/10 (28 November 2004)

Last night, with a young lass in tow I was able to get into the movie Alexander. I thought it was a great epic. Old Ptolemy played by Anthony Hopkins muses to his scribe about the days of Alexander. We then see played out on the screen Ptolemy's memories and I believe assumptions about Alexander's life as well as his own. After the film, my date and I headed for my favorite little watering hole, The Outback, and proceeded to start discussing the film. There is no shortage of opinions about this film. Oliver Stone who wrote and directed this film has created just enough controversy that he should be able to laugh all the way to the bank. Again, this is written from the premise of Ptolemy's memory. How can anyone find fault with a point of view that has the own personal bias of the character being played, Hello! Angelina Jolie plays Olympias, Alexander's mommy dearest, and as beautiful as she is as a mom, she was not going to land on a cover of the Ivory Snow Box. She also handled quite a few snakes (we men do love this cheap sexual exploitation) and it was hard to tell if the snakes eyes or Angelina's eyes were more cunning and there is the tiny issue of rather she had Philip, Alexander's dad played by Val Kilmer killed. Truth is, for the historical period it would not have been unheard of and after all, she was a barbarian. You know the old saying if you marry a barbarian do not be surprised if you end up in her stew or something like that. Anyway, you have a couple of scenes depicting the "close" relationship between Alexander, played by Colin Farrell and Hephaistion, played by Jared Leto. I mention this because this is one of the things that got Stone in trouble in the States over this film. Americans want to believe everyone is a Heterosexual if they were famous males in history. Please... can someone say - Alexander - Greek States - Greek influence? Maybe he had a male lover? Who knew? Who cares? He was a great leader and influenced world history right up to our current time. If you are a homophobe then you should not see this film. If you are interested in seeing a true tragedy played out as in the old morality plays then I think the film is a must see. If intense emotion gives you a rush but you can keep your pants on for 3 hours - get thee to the theater. If you are looking for a brief synopsis of the film - OK here goes. The story of how the influences, both family and external, of a young Alexander shape the youth into a man, a king. Then the 10 years of conquest to the East as well as the loyalty that Alexander creates amongst his follows. Lastly the fatal flaw that always ends great hero's greatness. They begin to believe their own hype and they trust well if not wisely. So if I had to grade it I would give it 9 out of 10 stars. Was it a great film? I am not a critic. I can say that three hours seemed like minutes and at the end of the film many felt saddened - If you can get patrons to fight their kidneys to stay in the seats and feel any emotion for the characters being played then that regardless of anything else gets you 9 out of 10 stars with me.