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Alexander

Review By: Zak Santucci
ZakSantucci@TheCinemaSource.com

I’m actually getting really mad at the film industry. They keep putting out movies like Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman and Sideways where I have to think really hard to find out if I like the movie or not. It’s never cut and dry. I can always respect what they do artistically and honestly say I enjoyed the 2 hours (or in Alexander’s case, 3 hours) I spent with the movie. However, I can never truly discern whether it’s pulled off or not. I don’t want to be too eager to put my stamp of approval on something just because its’ directed by Oliver Stone. But there were some parts in this movie where I was just stunned with the greatness of them. The whole movie wasn’t that good, but jeez, some of those scenes made it worth the three hours…for me at least. I actually woke up this morning to my clock radio blaring some dj calling the movie “Alexander the Mediocre”. I’m just having trouble understanding that.

Alexander is of course, the story of Alexander Colin Farrel. Anthony Hopkins plays Ptolemy, a long trusted friend of Alexander’s who is telling his story to scribes. Also starring are Angelina Jolie, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson, and Val Kilmer (in the only real standout performance of the movie, however he was awesome). The movie is your basic historical figure piece, but wait, what’s that? Oh, Oliver Stone’s directing it. This puts Alexander more in line with Immortal Beloved than other movies in the genre. In fact, it’s even more artistic and unconventional than Immortal Beloved. However, I only enjoyed it when it was employing these techniques. When the color gets reorganized, when an eagle’s used for a camera to change position, when the camera shakes and unrelated sound effects go through the movie; that’s when I was happy with what was going on. (By the way, don’t worry, the camera shakes far less than in Any Given Sunday and surprisingly enough, the battle scenes are visible). I don’t think the movie dwelled on these Stone type things enough until closer to the end. However, the first battle scene was perhaps one of the most suspenseful battle scenes I’ve ever seen in a movie. Not most action-packed or best-looking, but most suspenseful.

Also, choice scenes in this movie are visually breathtaking. The city of Babylon is beautiful and as Alexander approaches the east, more gorgeous sights are seen. Some of the things that practically made my jaw drop were the dancing scenes at the outset of each part of Asia. The care and vibrant colors made the movie itself resemble a movie from the east. This was definitely pulled off with a ...