Don't let the defenders fool you

Rating: 3/10 (7 August 2005)

Don't let the defenders fool you. This movie is atrocious and it has absolutely nothing to do with Alexander's sexuality. His sexuality (questioned by many critics, I happen to believe he was homosexual) is one of the very few things about this movie which is well-written.
The battle scenes are few and far between. The scenes we do get (Gaugamela and India) are haphazardly put together at best. The rest of the film seems to rest on the bizarre concept that Alexander is only conquering the world to escape his mother.
Angelina Jolie (and why is she cast as Olympias??), normally the bright spot in any film, doesn't help the picture. She has been given the direction to use some sort of anachronistic "Transylvanian" accent that would do better in a Hammer Dracula movie than in this piece.
Val Kilmer looks as if he wants to leave the film as soon as possible and the only real genuine emotion I felt during the film was pity for him.
The blonde wigged Colin Farrell is far worse. He seems to jump back and forth from a caricature to an absurdity with great ease and lightning speed.
Even Anthony Hopkins could not save this film.
I give it a 3 because, after studying ancient history for most of my life, the computer generated scenes of Alexandria and Babylon are one of the few joys to be had in this film.