It wasn't as bad as they say...

Rating: 6/10 (27 December 2004)

I have to say I just went to see it all excited and without reading the bad reviews that I'm reading now...and, I thought it was great and very entertaining! The strange ambitions and great acheivements of Alexander almost seem unthinkable to anyone. How can anyone living in that time take a large army and just decide to trek across so many countries, uniting them all at one point in history? Stone's version managed to explain it quite well, and that's the key, to a good story about Alexander the Great. The movie was 2.5 hours and worth every moment! 6.0/10
SPOILERS BELOW---->
Good points: Great psychological explanation from Oliver Stone, regarding Alexander's choices in life. I was never lost in the journey, considering it was so epic. Everything was so believable too, and small historical facts were addressed (Racism, monkeys, poisonous snakes, typhus...etc) Great acting from Angelina, breathtaking moments of acting and surprisingly believable and seductive Greek accent. Can you say, hot momma? The city of Babylon was so beautiful. Almost makes you wonder why he doesn't want to return. Hot Persian King... Good job from Collin Farrell, he was never out of character. Jared Leto's role made a great sensitive companion/best friend for Collin's Alexander. And in terms of the sexually charged scenes between them (although you never see them go at it, dang!), if you could stand that scene between Sam and Frodo while they were on the volcanic rocks in that third LOTR movie, you can stand this. It doesn't go beyond hugs... :( They picked a good young Alexander too...looks exactly like Collin and is in about twenty minutes of the movie. The fight scenes were amazingly real...almost makes you feel like you were there with the army. Elephants!
Bad points: Brief moments of imperfection in cinematography, especially in the first war. The flashback towards the end was a little jarring...wasn't smooth. The fight scenes can get messy with poor camera work, but it does make the struggles seem real. What's up with Val Kilmer? Anthony Hopkins' acting was lukewarm stereotypical..he looked very old... They never saw the Pacific ocean...:(