Alexandre

Hollywood star power and tons of money can't save this overwrought, melodramatic story of the life and times of Alexander The Great (Colin Farrell), the Greek warrior who conquered lands in times B.C.

The single biggest problem here is the script, and in particular the plot structure. Just as viewers are getting familiar with a plot sequence, the time period of the story shifts backward to a previous era, or forward to a future era. Displayed on the screen as "10 Years Earlier" or "40 Years Later" or "9 Years Earlier" or "8 Years Later", back and forth we go. It's maddening. It makes the story, which already contains too many characters with strange names, muddled and hard to follow. Director Oliver Stone apparently tries to cram in too much information; as such, the story's scope is too broad. Another possibility is that the time-shifts were necessitated in post-production editing. But whatever the cause, the screen story's convoluted plot is a huge barrier to understanding Alexander and the people in his life.

In addition, the script's dialogue contains too much exposition, mostly from Old Ptolemy (Anthony Hopkins) who, via numerous monologues, lectures us about Greek history. Again, one gets the impression that Stone is trying too hard to make the film a comprehensive history lesson.

Non-script elements are not much better. Casting for the main parts is poor. I like Angelina Jolie, but she is no Olympias. And Colin Farrell, with his golden locks, would fit better in a modern day romantic comedy. Acting is hammy, at times almost laughably so. Actors don't communicate with each other so much as they speechify. Every line of dialogue is heavy with import. Even the film's makeup is overdone. Jared Leto, with all that eyeliner, looks like a drag queen.

Perhaps the best element of the film is the color cinematography. It's quite good. Some of the landscapes are visually sweeping and majestic. And I liked that ethereal background music from Vangelis. Also, the costumes are colorful and apparently quite authentic.

I like Oliver Stone. But I have never cared for sword and sandal movies. They always seem pretentious, so proud of themselves, in their extended runtimes and sweeping scope. "Alexander" is no exception; it muddles along for nearly three hours, and covers most of one man's lifetime as he conquers lands from the Mediterranean to the Far East.

Maybe Oliver Stone would have been better advised to confine his saga to a smaller, more restricted story, one wherein viewers can get to know the protagonist and his inspirations and challenges. In its present form, "Alexander" is just too sprawling and epical to warrant any enthusiasm from me.

Saw Alexander last night and loved it. Would I recommend it? Yes-BUT-be forewarned, this is not your classic historical epic so leave behind all ideas of what an historic epic film should be and bring along an open the mind for a wonderful ride. After all, one doesn't expect Ben-Hur or The Robe or The Ten Commandments from Oliver Stone. He uses jumpy camera shots and grainy filters as well as wonderful color filters that give the battle scenes a viscerally disturbing edge, taking the viewer out of their complacent acceptance of 21st century, violent battle scenes and making them squirm. I felt the desiccating heat at Gaugamel as well as the cloying humidity of the Indian forests. The grandeur of the CGI presentation of Babylon was awe inspiring as was the set for the Library at Alexandria.

The subtle presentation of the film in Greek Tragedy format worked well for me, from Pharoah Ptolomy representing the chorus through the Oedipal angst of Alexander's love/hate relationship with his parents. The costuming was perfection, as was the architecture. Not once was I jolted by an incorrect piece of art, jewelry, fabric or weapon. The use of a Gypsy Horse (or Irish Cob) for Bucephalus was a striking choice. They are a majestic breed and, although I am under-educated as to what his actual breed was, he was well cast.

Before seeing the film I was only aware of Messers Stone and Farrell and Ms. Jolie's involvement so I was pleasantly surprised by the appearance of Brian Blessed as the wrestling master and Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Cassander, and I was thrilled by the Vangelis score! I have not heard a Vangelis score since The Bounty.

As for the representation of love between Alexander and Hephaestion, my hat is off to Oliver Stone for his presentation of a love that transcended gender and was as true as that Paris held for Helen. Unlike the recent film of Troy, in which the lovers Achilles and Patroclus were made into platonic cousins, Oliver Stone has courageously represented an historic love to a culture wherein the attitude towards male/male pairings have become anethema. That the Great General Alexander had a male life companion is a simple fact of history as we know it. In my years at school it was not presented as either laudable or offensive, it was simply a researched fact. History as we know it tells us that the Greece of Alexander's time looked upon such pairings as Alexander's and Hephaestion's as something acceptable as long as they grew in knowledge and virtue. Christopher Plummer's Aristotle sums this up in one simple speech near the beginning of the film and, by taking Ganymede to his side, the greatest of all Greek Gods, Zeus, sanctioned such pairings. Like it as not, right or wrong, the *gender issue* and *gay issue* are a none other than a matter of popular opinion, and popular opinion at the time of Alexander was that men lay down with men as well as women. It simply was, and that is how Oliver Stone handled it-simply-without defense or apology and that took guts.

Even without the *controversial* relationship between Alexander and Hephaestion, this would have been a 9.5 out of 10 for me.

Don't go looking for three hours of blood and guts. The Greeks were philosophers and there is lots of talk, about everything from moral virtue to sin, to greed and hubris, friendship and love...you get the idea. People who liked Humanities and Contemporary Civilization in college will like this film a lot more than people whose idea of a good time is three hours of Mel Gibson causing bloody havoc. The battle scenes, while gory, are not as explicit as many blood-and-guts fans might be hoping for. Then, the male-male romance was tough on a lot of young guys on dates with their girlfriends. There were lots of nervous titters from young men. This film is ground-breaking, and for those who haven't come to terms with the fact of our universal innate bisexuality (re-read your Freud), it can be troubling. See this film in a trendy neighborhood with highly educated snobs, especially gay ones. You'll be a lot happier.

This film is balancing on a thin line between artistic movie-making or pretentious failure. I watched it only once in its Ultimate Cut entirety and what I've witnessed is a bold epic, but besides that, much more of a character study film. The film has few shots with outdated CGI that are minimal and insignificant in the grand scheme of things. The acting is quite well for what the actors are trying to portray. Everyone's saying Alexander is miscast, laughable, and weak. But that's what this movie's going for; uncovering the man behind the legend. Was that man perfect? Did he appear perfect? None of us are, but he was clever, brave beyond measure, and had the wit for war and diplomatic leadership. His speeches portrayed as motivating and convincing are also at times awkward and frail. The action is sometimes too shaky, but the battles still deliver the intensity and violent nature of death in war. The last battle, although shorter, is a marvel to behold. Full of colors, intricate designs, ferocious imagery, and artistic moments. The music by Vangelis might be his best; it lifts this whole ancient world to life and elevates certain scenes to haunting heights of craftsmanship.

Some characters could have been more fleshed out as they have paramount roles. Some of the accents are kind of overdone, but there is a meaning behind some of them. Rosario Dawson and Angelina Jolie are gorgeous and enchanting. Symbolism and the visual language of this film functioned remarkably well. The film's philosophy is very much about genders and sexism, racism and xenophobia, frailty and ego and myths, and their effect on people. A passionate man and a dreamer can only go so far, and that's what brought Alexander's downfall.

The film finishes strongly with Anthony Hopkins's narration, where he goes back on his words and scraps them, cementing the element of an unreliable narrator. That being the main point of this film, history and its validity, and how some larger-than-life figures can be very much like us, mere mortals.

I didn't even mention the elephant in the room (no pun intended), Alexander's homosexuality, or bisexuality. The film rarely presents it as some big problem or talking point. Kind of like it used to be more acceptable to feel the greatest love for a man. Now, this film is still getting condemned for that. How much more progressed are we today, ay?

It took Oliver Stone four tries and ten years of edits to get this film right...but he finally does.

The Final Cut, released in 2014, shuffles the story elements around so the narrative is fast-paced and cohesive. Alexander's bisexuality is explored much more deeply. Those close to Alexander are further explored.

If you're going to watch Alexander, watch The Final Cut. It's far and away the best version.