Could/Should have been much better

Rating: 2/10 (30 November 2004)

Alexander was a deeply disappointing movie for me. I had initially assumed it would be rife with revisionism, added to avoid offending the sensibilities of modern movie-goers, please note I consider the Greeks of two thousand years ago to have been far more enlightened than post Judeo-Christian cultures replete as they are with institutionalized hang ups and prejudices, however when I started to read the furore about Alexander being depicted as bisexual I thought that after all I would give the movie a chance.
Having read about Alexander's life, campaigns and major battles I had no problem following the movie and believe it stayed (within acceptable limits of Hollywood artistic license) fairly true to what we currently know about Alexander. My perspective, however, allowed me to fill in the many gaps where Oliver Stone left someone not previously familiar with Alexander's life foundering and also missed key opportunities to define Alexander better.
The battle of Gaugamela was in my opinion incomprehensible to someone who hadnt previously read about it.
Alexander's achievements remain unsurpassed by any other military commander in history. This was a great leader and motivator, a supremely powerful individual who could cow, lead and easily eclipse a group of also powerful leaders, his immediate lieutenants ie Ptolemy, Cassander et al, who themselves went on after his death to carve out large kingdoms and successfully lead large armies.
Between Stones' direction and Farrell's performance the strength, confidence, leadership and charisma that the real Alexander would undoubtedly have needed simply weren't there. Too much angst and self doubt.
I couldn't believe in Colin Farrell's Alexander and that combined with the choppy, confused storytelling were my two major gripes.