Alexander (Special Edition) > Reviews > Was he really that great? - Alexander

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Good
Characters / Performances	Satisfactory
Special Effects	Good
Soundtrack	Good

Advantages:	Good story, Loads of factual information
Disadvantages:	Nearly 3 hours long !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

==Alexander==
Running Time: 175 Minutes
Released: 7 January 2005
Directed By: Oliver Stone
Certificate: 15

Cast:

Alexander - Colin Farrel
Hephaistion - Jared Leto
Ptolemy - Elliot Cowan
Philotas - Joseph Morgan
Antigonus - Ian Beattie
Cassander - Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Leonnatus - Garrett Lombard
Crateros - Rory McCann
Roxane - Rosario Dawson
Old Ptolemy - Anthony Hopkins
Scribe - David Bedella
Child Alexander - Jessie Kamm
Olympias - Angelina Jolie
Philip - Val Kilmer
Nurse - Fiona O'Shaughnessy
Young Alexander - Connor Paolo
Young Hephaistion - Patrick Carroll
Wrestling Trainer - Brian Blessed
Young Nearchus - Peter Williamson
Young Cassander - Morgan Christopher Ferris
Young Ptolemy - Robert Earley
Young Perdiccas - Aleczander Gordon
Aristotle - Christopher Plummer
Cleitus - Gary Stretch

Story:

Alexander follows the true story of Macedonian conquerer Alexander the great and his rise to power over the Persian army which led him famously to controling 90% of the known world with an empire that spread 22,000 miles all the way from Greece to India before the age of 25. The story begins as Alexanders father king Philip is murdered leaving Alexander to take the throne at the young age of 20 and continue in his fathers crusade to crush the persian army.

His first battle is with the mighty Darius commander of the Persian army and the man Alexander suspects of funding his fathers murder, Though being greatly outnumbered with his 40,000 troops to the 200,000 strong Persian slave army he rises to victory and forces Darius into exile proving he has his fathers leadership skills and winning over his army's loyalty.

Successful in his battles against the persians and ruler of all he decides to make a new home in Babylon but Alexanders lust for victory does not end there and so he moves his army west into the unchartered lands central Asia where he takes an Asian bride in order to unite the two cultures much to his armies discontent before finally venturing to the Hindu Kush further than any greek had ever travelled before but when his leadership is in question by his troops and plots for his demise emerge soon the only person he can trust is his close 'friend' Hephaistion in this tale of victory and betrayal.

Review:

This film is probably one of the most factual representations of the tale of Alexander the great that has been produced so far and rightly so too as director Oliver Stone consulted with many historians before production began to make this film feel as realistic as possible. The story holds strong throughout which is quite an accomplishment being as it is a three hour long film and it really does it does keep your attention from start to finish, The soundtrack is really fitting and not only helps to set the scene for the gruesome battles but adds to the ever building mystery and tension and appropriately changes as they venture to new lands which helps you to identify with the ever changing scenery and the sound effects sound very realstic and add a lot of depth to the few and far between battle scenes.

The performances of the cast were all pretty good especially that of Colin Farrell as Alexander however there were also alot of poor casting decisions as many of them do not suit their on screen counter parts at all. On the whole i did really enjoy this film but found that the interest in this film mainly lies with the women that venture into Alexanders life and not so much in the battles as i had previously hoped.

Overall if you have a spare three hours to waste and your willing to ignore the poor casting this is a really enjoyable film to watch and one i would recommend to fans of Troy and 300 or anyone just looking for a factual representation of the Alexander the great tale.

Price & Availability:

Alexander is available to buy on DVD from Amazon for just £5 and thehut.com for £7 and is good value for money