Highly Entertaining - even if it is Oliver Stone

Rating: 6/10 (29 April 2006)

Cinematically, I give this movie exceedingly high marks. The primary characters in this movie didn't grab me, it was the outstanding supporting roles, including that of Alexander's horse. Cleitus was hands down, my favorite character and met the most tragic, undeserving end one can imagine from such a faithful and devoted man.
I thought Val Kilmer did a great job, as did Sir Anthony Hopkins. Angelina Jolie was strong as well, except for that bizarre accent, which sounded more like that of someone who just got off the boat from Montenegro, not Macedonia. Colin Ferrell did a very respectable job in this role and it appears as if he's just not come into his "avante guard" own among the US critics yet. He did a fine job and turned in a more than worthy performance.
There has been much mention made on this site about the use of Celtic accents in the movie. This was obviously intentional, inflicted for the sole purpose of giving the film a Shakesperean tragedy feel to it. If it was acceptable in a series as brilliantly produced as I Claudius, why is it unacceptable in this medium? That wasn't bothersome to me at all - Jolie's accent was atrocious. The only accent that bothered me was the heavy Scots accent during a dispute between Alexander and one of his oldest generals - I couldn't understand a freaking word the guy said.
This movie would have been a nice cinematic history lesson, were it not for Oliver Stone's incessant need to constantly interject conspiracy theories into every single movie he creates. He is very tiresome with the never-ending rubs he throws in there, the evil, racially intolerant generals, liberal vs. conservative nuances, which of course, ends in a lesson being that the one who supports diversity is the martyr, regardless of whether or not the espousal of such a notion during that period in world history was catastrophic. The inference is that Alexander was poisoned through treachery - in reality, it took Alexander 12 days to die - there was no known poison of the period that took more than 1 day to claim its victim. Perhaps this is why the critics didn't like the movie - historically, it is dishonest. Perhaps I am not the only one who's grown weary of Oliver Stone.