Great Historic Number

Rating: 8/10 (1 February 2005)

Alexander was definitely and unarguably one of the pleasanter slights of hand in 2004. Surprising for its clarity and compelling impetus, the gigantic Oliver Stone undertaking could easily have wallowed in self-indulgence and amounted to little more than pomp and circumstance. However, through innovative takes on more or less accepted history, capable cast members and a sweeping saga of a story, Stone's Alexander actually made it to the frontlines of the annals of cinema relatively unscathed.
Many expected the worst from this rendition, fearing it won't measure up to existing entries in its genre. Yet Alexander was nowhere near most recent counterparts in mindset or production values, such as Ridley Scott's Gladiator and Petersen's Troy, and deployed far less visceral action, replacing it with poetic recounting of the great Hellenic ruler's escapades, in addition to controversial elements pertaining to the king's sexual orientation.
Indeed, there were quite a few battle segments, most notably the Gaugamela encounter with Darius's great Persian army, and later Alexander with his hapless forays into India. These were certainly exciting and well done, especially when depicting Alexander's League forces as they went head to head with monstrous war elephants. However, what made this film so enticing was the overall scope of matters, imbued as it was with succulent parts tragedy, documentary epic and outright soap opera. From his humble beginnings as heir to the Macedonian throne, Alexander was brought up to become the great leader, and often despot, that he eventually turned into. Along his path were strewn countless bodies, rendered thus either through heroic sacrifice in battle or cruel backdrop politics, assassination and betrayal. But the underlying theme of manifest destiny never left Alexander, as he led seemingly diverse, and frequently antagonized, factions on a joint quest eastward, in a bid to reach heights of power never before attained.
All of this was captured well enough in Alexander. Although falling short of certain hallmarks and standards set by earlier The Passion of Christ in that it didn't feature authentic language and speech (opting for the rather trite pseudo-Olde English trick instead), Stone's pet project nonetheless provided a comprehensive entertainment package, so long as you didn't anticipate copious deluges of top notch action or unrivaled historic fidelity. This movie was all about the ride, and with over 180 minutes under its runtime belt, a major ride it was indeed, packed to the gills with quality storytelling, excellent period moods and even laudable CGI.
The cast did wonderfully, alternating between the subtle and the grossly over the top with panache. Colin Farrell, as Alexander, didn't necessarily lead the group per se, but being such a natural thespian overall managed a satisfying, robust role. Bear in mind this feature required him to carry out several dimensions of the same character, including obsessive conqueror, timid introvert, manic lover and shadowy conspirator.
Better suited to their roles, Angelina Jolie and Val Kilmer finally got opportunities to live down bad memories. The former excelled as Alexander's wicked sorceress mom Olymphias, allowing us to at last forget about her miserable appearance in Tomb Raider 2, while the latter returned to the screen in his best role since The Salton Sea, this time around conveying King Philip, Alexander's unruly father and Macedonia's national figurehead. Much of the kudos for making the picture so atmospheric belonged with more supportive members, in particular the lead protagonist's many deputies and warlords, like Ptolemy (Elliot Cowan), Attalus (Nick Dunning) and Cleitus (Gary Stretch). Rosario Dawson, too, was impressive as Farrell's main female companion, doing (no pun intended) Roxanne, Persian captive-wife of Alexander. We even got to see Dawson and her considerable physical assets in full nudity, which was an experience not hastily forgotten.
And of course, always on the verge of quitting the movie business but not there yet, Anthony Hopkins delivered a prolonged, multi-part cameo as an old Ptolemy, comfortable in a PC-generated version of Alexandria, Egypt, and retelling the world-changing campaign for historians to record. This enabled viewers to conceive of a context for the hefty tale, putting events and other building blocks in perspective.
And perspective was one of this movie's chief accomplishments. It was a tribute to tumultuous, important times brimming with legendary names, yet wasn't sucked into hackneyed superlatives or cheapened, crowd-pleasing action compromises. Alexander succeeded in giving people a memorable lesson in our world's history, while never letting its grip over quality and entertainment levers loosen noticeably. Plus, it had a bit of a titillating bite to it, which invariably helped. Excellent in most departments, and most obviously worth inspection.