Never Lived Up To Its Potential

Rating: 7/10 (10 September 2012)

Alexander is an epic film based on the life of Alexander the Great. It was directed by Oliver Stone, with Colin Farrell in the title role together with Angelina Jolie,Val Kilmer,Jared Leto,Rosario Dawson and Anthony Hopkins. The film was an original screenplay based in part on the book Alexander the Great, written by historian Robin Lane Fox.
The film is based on the life of Alexander the Great, King of Macedon, who conquered Asia Minor, Egypt, Persia and part of Ancient India. Shown are some of the key moments of Alexander's youth, his invasion of the mighty Persian Empire and his death. It also outlines his early life, including his difficult relationship with his father Philip II of Macedon, his strained feeling towards his mother Olympias, the unification of the Greek city-states and the two Greek Kingdoms - Macedon and Epirus - under the Hellenic League,and the conquest of the Persian Empire in 331 BC. It also details his plans to reform his empire and the attempts he made to reach the end of the then known world.
The movie gives us some truly stirring visuals and music that soars but performances that not so believable and credible.At a reported cost of $155 million, it qualifies as a super-spectacle in every respect except for Colin Farrell is woefully miscast in the lead.We barely get any substance on who Alexander is all about.Also,the film is a disaster on an epic scale for it is sprawling, messy and incoherent.In the end,it simply never lived up to its potential.