Alexander | Rotten Tomatoes (original) (raw)
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Critics Consensus
Even at nearly three hours long, this ponderous, talky, and emotionally distant biopic fails to illuminate Alexander's life.
Alonso Duralde The Advocate While it's worth applauding Alexander for not making its legendary hero 100% hetero, there's nothing else to recommend about this stilted, tedious epic. Jul 27, 2021 Full Review David Ansen Newsweek Though Alexander is emotionally and intellectually incoherent, it's the work of a first-rate filmmaker who creates unforgettable images...could any contemporary actor fill Alexander's globe-bestriding shoes? He remains beyond Farrell's grasp. Mar 13, 2018 Full Review Nell Minow Common Sense Media Alexander the person was great. This movie isn't. Rated: 1/5 Sep 9, 2010 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site It's not at all clear what Stone is getting at, other than suggesting that conquering the world is exhausting and psychologically damaging work. Feb 15, 2021 Full Review Kaleem Aftab The List Stone has always relished posing more questions than he has answers in biopics. In Alexander, however, he enjoys it a little too much. Rated: 3/5 Apr 23, 2019 Full Review Mark Steyn The Spectator When you look at the bloated gleeful paranoia of JFK or the hallucinatory inflation of Natural Born Killers, who would have thought Stone would pick this subject to make a film that's so much smaller than life? Feb 1, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews
Ola G "Alexander" (3 out of 5) Around 285 BC, Ptolemy I Soter, basileus and pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, narrates the life of Alexander (Colin Farrell). Alexander grows up with his mother Olympias (Angelina Jolie) and his tutor Aristotle, where he finds interest in love, honor, music, exploration, poetry and military combat. His relationship with his father, Philip II of Macedon (Val Kilmer), is destroyed when Philip marries Attalus's niece, Eurydice. Alexander insults Philip after disowning Attalus as his kinsman, which results in Alexander's banishment from Philip's palace. After Philip is assassinated, Alexander becomes King of Macedonia. Ptolemy mentions Alexander's punitive campaign in which he razes Thebes, also referring to the later burning of Persepolis, then gives an overview of Alexander's west-Persian campaign, including his declaration as the son of Zeus by the Oracle of Amun at Siwa Oasis, his great battle against the Persian Emperor Darius III in the Battle of Gaugamela, and his eight-year campaign across Asia... Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus states: "Even at nearly three hours long, this ponderous, talky, and emotionally distant biopic fails to illuminate Alexander's life." One of the principal complaints among American film critics was that Alexander resembled less an action-drama film than a history documentary. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, giving the film two out of four stars, wrote in his review, "We welcome the scenes of battle, pomp and circumstance because at least for a time we are free of the endless narration of Ptolemy the historian." Faint praise came from Todd McCarthy of Variety who wrote, "Oliver Stone's Alexander is at best an honorable failure, an intelligent and ambitious picture that crucially lacks dramatic flair and emotional involvement. Dry and academic where Troy (2004) was vulgar and willfully ahistorical". (Via Wikipedia) This "epic" pompous historical drama film based on the life of the ancient Macedonian general and king Alexander the Great has the foundation of being a great "Sword-and-sandal" film like "Troy", but unfortunately it fails more or less on all levels. The acting and deliverance of the lines is over theatrical and it feels like the ensemble is reading from an ancient manuscript. The actors are over acting more or less throughout the film and you simply don't believe in any of the characters nor the historical drama it is supposed to be channeling. Colin Farrell is quite terrible as Alexander and I hate to say that as he is a magnificent actor. The accents are a massive problem in my book, most speak with an Irish accent and I can't understand how Oliver Stone thought that would fly, while some characters like Angelina Jolie´s Olympias speak with an English accent with some undertone of a foreign language. It becomes silly to be honest. The drama never really becomes a drama and the action sequences are few and not all that exciting. And it's just too much of a talky film we are served. Endless talking with endless mentions of names after names. And I don't get the switch to 8 years earlier in the second half of the film that makes no sense at that point during the running time. Maybe a desperate way of Stone recutting the film close to the premiere from what he thought was going to be the final running time, despite the fact that the initial theatrical cut was 175 minutes! "Alexander" is a snooze I am afraid to say. It just doesn't work. Trivia: The film's original screenplay was derived in part from the book Alexander the Great, published in 1973 by the University of Oxford historian Robin Lane Fox. After release, while it performed well in Europe, the American critical reaction was negative. It grossed 167millionworldwideagainsta167 million worldwide against a 167millionworldwideagainsta155 million budget, thus making it a commercial failure. (Via Wikipedia) Rated 3 out of 5 stars 09/26/24 Full Review Audience Member How anyone can make a film about one of the best conquerors in history so boring I'll never know. 3.5 hours long and you get 2 short battles. This film completely fails in every regard. Plus they made him a hom0. Ridiculous! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/13/24 Full Review Gerald H Boy, what a mess. This is so bad I don‘t know where to start. Nothing - really NOTHING - works out in this movie. In the wake of Gladiator, they all wanted to shine What an epic fail. Plus the score. Oh boy. Vangelis. While Bladerunner is arguably one of the greatest scores of all time, this might be the worst … at least when it’s about fitting pictures and story. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 09/10/24 Full Review Marcus E In 2024, I enjoyed this! Wow, a daring look at his life. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 09/02/24 Full Review Sams K Not bad, but Oliver Stone could have done better. Rosario Dawson is so hot. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 08/24/24 Full Review Paul F It was so bad I had to stop watching it, I was embarrassed for the amazing actors involved. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/09/24 Full Review Read all reviews
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Synopsis The story is an epic that is as daring and ambitious as its subject, a relentless conqueror who by the age of 32 had amassed the greatest empire the world had ever seen. Past and present collide to form the puzzle of the protagonist, a tapestry of triumphs and tragedies in which childhood memories and Alexander's rise to power unfold side by side with the later day expansion of his empire, and its ultimate downfall.
Director
Oliver Stone
Producer
Moritz Borman, Jon Kilik
Screenwriter
Oliver Stone, Christopher Kyle, Laeta Kalogridis
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co
Warner Brothers, Pacifica Film
Rating
R (Violence|Some Sexuality|Nudity)
Genre
History, Drama, Biography, Adventure, War
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Nov 24, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 24, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$34.3M
Runtime
2h 55m
Sound Mix
Dolby SRD, SDDS, Surround, DTS
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
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