Imagine having a succulent piece of cake, smothered with the richest cream, topped with shreds of chocolate, uneven pieces of cocoa spread over the cream offset its whiteness, as a shiny red piece of cherry looks at you .. you bite into it expectantly and ughh ? its devoid of sugar !!!
This is the kind of feeling one gets after watching Alexander, The Great. Its like pieces of thread flying all over the place begging to be wound together as one piece .. Oliver Stone, the director who made famed movies such as ?Doors? and ?Natural Born Killers? falters here !!!
As a friend remarked ? this is the first Greek or Macedonian who has blond hair .. history has never been able to prove this and poor Colin Farrel had to dye himself. This actor who has great potential, especially after stellar performances in ?Minority Report? and ?Phone Booth? just floats throughout the movie giving glimpses of his skills but never being consistent.
Everyone knows the story of Alexander ? The Great and its not right on my part to narrate it all over again .. However Mr Stone has definitely taken liberties with history, Alexander was never killed in India and what about Puru ? our great Indian king ?he?s not been mentioned at all.
Val Kilmer as King Phillip, Alexander?s father is first rate giving his role and character all that he has got. Angelina Jolie, who plays Olympia ? Alexander?s mother (the main reason why I went to see the movie ) has a big hangover of her Tomb Raider movies, spouting her pout quite unnecessarily at times and playing with one snake too many !!!. Sir Anthony Hopkins plays the narrator and has been wasted.
Jared Leto has been made to look pretty in this movie as Alexander?s best friend and their homosexual angle has been given a little too much importance than required. Explicit glances between Alexander and his Persian man servant is also given unwanted importance. This topic led to many protests before the movie was released as historians didn?t quite agree with depicting Alexander as a bisexual.
This movie leaves a lot of unanswered questions as it never treads on one particular path of Alexander?s life, shifting focus from time to time , leaving the viewer perplexed. The war scenes are well picturised, but could have been better. The war against Darius ? the Persian king leaves the viewer a little confused as its built up very well, explaining the battle positions and its over ..all of a sudden.
The battle with Puru in the forests of India is exquisitely picturised, showing the Indian grandeur of Elephants and archers bearing down on the greeks !!! , this is the highlight of the movie.
Art direction is splendid, with the greek cities and especially the Persian capital of Babylon shown in all its beauty !!!
All in all a movie which can be seen in the confines of your home .. one hand on the popcorn and the other on Coke. A movie which had high expectations but ..falls short !!!