Not bad, but left me with mixed feelings

Rating: 9/10 (20 November 2004)

I just saw Alexander in a midnight preview. Well, what to say? I was never very good in history, but if I was asked I would say that the film shows Alexander's life in a very realistic way. For example, any other filmmaker would have shown us Alexander as a hero, flawless, a great conqueror... but he wasn't just all that. It was very brave from Stone to show us his other side, the human in him, emotions... This film could have easily become a hack and slash movie, I mean Alexander spent most of his life in war. But in these 3 hours there are only two really big battles, but when it comes to them they are not nice or heroic like in "Troy", no, the camera holds still on all the brutality and dirt that such battles were full of. Alexander himself is a figure of controversy, especially his love life and sexual orientation. In that aspect Stone again was very brave, showing us Alexander's love for both, men and women. This is an epic film, whether you like it or not, but one thing is for sure, this film will be discussed...