Alexander

Alexander (Troy was better)

I just watched this movie on HBO again, and I have to say that it’s just as bad when I saw it months ago. Oliver Stone’s movie is bloated and self-indulgent. Stone takes every step to remind us how wonderful and great a person Alexander was to the world without telling us a good story behind it. The movie jumps around so much it felt like Alexander was the first Quantum Leap guy. The movie falls flat.

The acting in the movie ranges from dull to over the top, with the exception of Christopher Plummer playing Aristotle. He’s the one bright spot in the entire movie. I’ve never been a fan of Aristotle’s teachings and this movie shows the true flaw in his mindset. Stone’s biggest mistake was casting Colin Farrell as Alexander. Farrell simply doesn’t have the skill to carry an epic like this. Angelina Jolie isn’t believable as his mother.

Another glaring problem I have is the bad decision to use Vangelis as the composer for this film. Vangelis is known to use poorly done Synth instrumentation. How the hell can you show emotion on screen when all the music sounds like it came from a video game from the early 90s? The music is just bad. Say what you want about Horner’s tracks in Troy, at least he used real music.

Stone could have done better, and given more time, he probably could have. Note: Seeing Rosario Dawson naked almost bumps this movie up a letter.

Grade D+