Diplomatic, but honest

Rating: Null/10 (30 November 2004)

I have been looking forward to this film for a while now, even though I am not an Oliver Stone fan, I have always loved the story of Alexander the Great.
The movie was not what I expected because I didn't find it to be a very "Hollywood" type film or an epic film. I found it to really just tell the story of Alexander and I respect Oliver Stone for that. Oliver Stone presents Alexander the Greats life as he found it to be through his research, and while it is laced with Oliver Stone's opinion, it is not forced. He does give you both sides of how things may have been (referring to lovers and his death)and that's fairly rare. I truly felt like I was being told a story about a legendary man. Alexander was also humanized instead of glorified in the film, which I also respect. We see his flaws, his trials, we understand why the people loved him, we see what made him a great leader, and we realize what made him fall.
Now, with all that said, I found the performance to be inconsistent. At times I felt the actors weren't sure why they were committing to a line. But at times they were quite powerful. The one sensation that I took away from the film is what a passionate man Alexander was, about all aspects of his life. As for the accents, well they were all over the place and as off putting as that may be, it does not break a film, it hurts it.
The camera work on Anthony Hopkins performances was distracting and awkward, but the coverage, angles and cinematography in general in the battle scenes I found to be very effective. The production design was stellar, but the score left me wanting more, a man like that should have had a theme as dynamic as him. All in all, I'm glad I saw it; I wish it was stronger all around, but compared to a lot of the junk that is in theaters these days, it's a fairly respectable film. I give it a c+.
On a quick personal note, may I just say that to all the people who feel there should have been homosexual action I just have to say that you don't need sex to portray love. Love is portrayed in this film without a kiss, unless you're deaf and blind. For those who feel Alexander was not bisexual and are offended by the suggestion can just refuse to believe it and write their own film. This is Oliver Stone's interpretation, not yours and he was rather tactful with his suggestion. It's unfortunate that some rate the entire film by that notion.