Alexander  an Instant Camp Classic

Rating: 7/10 (28 November 2004)

Oliver Stone has imagined a vigorous, opulent homage to the Sword and Sandal genre, and like the best of those films of a generation ago, sheer visual style, over-the-top acting, and showmanship win the day. The best of those films-Lawrence of Arabia, Ben-Hur and Spartacus-also had brilliant scripts, pitting their protagonists in the center of conflicts where superhuman will and wit overcome immense odds. But as history's first and most insatiable conqueror, Alexander seems unchallenged. Mighty ancient cities fall beneath his sword like so much marshmallow, and his one true enemy-Darius, King of Persia-has no words in Stone's film at all!-he's just a face. Thus, without a central conflict to dramatize, Stone's film lowers itself to the Sword and Sandal genre's middle road, where writing takes a back seat, and characters make portentous pronouncements before going off to fulfill their destinies. Angelina Jolie, as Olympias, Alexander's mother, comes off best and worst in Stone's decadent stew. Her unnatural devotion to Alexander seems to inspire the 'You-Must-Conquer-the-Known World' flame, but she's quickly side-lined by the script and is left screaming in the wilderness, having no real effect on the ensuing action. But she looks magnificent, and her face at the moment of Philip of Macedonia's death, is alone worth the price admission. Her Transylvanian accent, however, is a distraction, as are the Irish, English and Scottish dialects of other actors. Stone's script also avoids Alexander's more elaborate military strategies-studied and duplicated for thousands of years-and makes short shrift of the ongoing power struggles he had with his generals. Colin Farrell, as Alexander, works hard and holds the screen for 3 hours with a strange mix of petulance, arrogance and good old fashioned Hollywood charm. He and Jared Leto, as Hephaistion, have a long and tender love scene (fully-clothed) on a Babylonian balcony, looking down on what has to be the most opulent scenery ever devised for a feature film. This is a clear, if telescopic homage to D.W. Griffith's 1916 Masterpiece, 'Intolerance.' All in all, Stone's Alexander is never boring, never brilliant, but always visually exciting. Probably the most gorgeous film made in years. Terrific showmanship. 7/10