I have seen many epic's in my time............but only one colossus

Rating: 9/10 (9 January 2005)

The one-dimensional (mostly American) view on this film aside, this film is not breath-taking, it isn't inspiring and it isn't beautiful to look at. What it is however is the strongest, heartfelt look at a land that time forgot. About a man who was so ahead of his time that he was frightened to discover the depths of his ambition. I went to see this film early in the morning so there was only one other guy in the cinema. I couldn't see other peoples reactions so it was all about me and the film. Val Kilmer is captivating, Angelina Jolie is mesmerizing and Colin Farrell.......Colin brings out such grand feelings and emotions , that I'm sure he's never actually felt on such a scale, out of nowhere its hard to believe that he hasn't killed thousands of men and gone to the ends of the earth. Its true he brings the 21st century wild boy image to the role(and it was easy to see that at times he felt over-awed by the scale of the film) but nevertheless being 16 myself in our era i would have it no other way. That raw intensity that young men feel nowadays is essential to such a gigantic role. The story packs so much history and love into its 2 hours and 55 minutes that i never felt bored...EVER. Most of time when colin cries you cant help but well up too. Everyone thought Gaugemela was great (which is was) but i loved the guerrilla sequence that the second battle brought with its erratic battling, shifted color scenes which were simply cool and of course the grand face/off between Alexander and Bucephalus and the Indian king and his elephant, its simply magnificent with the big animal noises, direction and grandeur. I know I've concentrated more on the character of Alexander himself rather than anything else but thats what i thought made the movie myself. I wont address the bisexuality thing, to me i didn't know what the big American deal was about it, a few hugs and a kiss pssshhh whats the deal? i thought there wasn't enough myself and there's not a gay bone in my body. Iwant this film to go well but sooner or later in years to come it will be recognized for WA t it truly is a, which is simply a massive canvas of historical art, and Stone has the paint brush splashing reds, blues, yellows etc.. wherever he like creating a masterpiece, bravo Oliver! I guess to all you other you have to want to know about the man, to appreciate the film!!