The Movie

[kate]

I finally saw the film last night so I thought I would post my opinion for what it's worth. First of all, it was much better than the reviews had led me to expect. Ok, it had its faults, but I think the critics were just jumping on the bandwaggon and savaging the whole thing because it became fashionable to knock it. A pity, because it must have put a lot of people off seeing it - the cinema I saw it in was almost empty.
Basically, I think it was let down by bad direction and a confusing script, which had some terrible dialogue and daft scenes at times. On the other hand, everything looked wonderful and I think most of the actors were good. Maybe if Stone had spent less effort trying to explain Alexander's movitations by linking them to his relationship with his parents it would have been better. All this "inner struggle" stuff unbalanced the film in my view, a few more scenes showing Alexander's genius in action would have helped. I suppose it was too expensive to film things like the seige of Tyre, but by making Alexander so sensitive Stone lost the chance to show his brilliant decisiveness -I mean, what was all that "stunned ox" hesitation when Philip was murdered? Surely, in reality Alexander didn't just stand there gormlessly and let other people declare him king!
All in all, though, I think it was a decent effort and I certainly intend to see it again.
Cheers,
Kate

[Halil]

Hello GailI think most of us agree with your views, but what did you like most about it?RegardsHalil

[Halil]

Just wondering, are you Kate or Gail?Halil

[lucian]

Now that is one thing I would have loved to see...the conquest of Tyre!!!!
Tyre was such a feat of military greatness, his best effort ever, and it was never shown or talked of. Egypt in my opinion is awesome, just shows how much of a visionary he was. Gaugamela was cool, but for all the training Colin went through, he didn't fight much, and somehow came out bathed in blood. Although we all know Alexander at times (for a conqueror)was a nice guy, the movie focused too much on his "tender side". Truth being the man had the potential of having a Jackal and Hyde personality, all of which made him great.
I think a little bit of his darker side needed to be shown, and not the late late version after he was the king of the world, but there were pieces here and there throughout his early career where he wasn't always so...nice.
It sucks, not the movie, but the fact that we're probably never going to see everything being played out on screen, there is so much in his story that is just amazing.

[kate]

Hello Halil,My given name is Gail, but I don't like it so when I joined Pothos I decided to use Kate, which is a family nickname. I don't mind which name anyone uses.You asked what I liked best about the movie and I think what I enjoyed most was the sheer spectacle of it. Ok many of the details were wrong, but it was like seeing all the pictures in your head when you read about Alexander brought to life, for example the triumphant entry into Babylon for me really gave the flavour of what it must have been like to be there on that fantastic day.Another thing I liked was the way it showed how much Olympias actually loved Alexander, especially as a little boy. I suppose I am too used to seeing her in a darker light as someone who was interested only in power so it was nice to be reminded that she must have had a softer side: after all who wouldn't be proud of and love a son like Alexander!Cheers,Kate

[Halil]

Hello KateFor me, the entry into Babylon was the best part of the whole movie, when the cameras panned back and up (if I remember correctly) to show the Babylonian skyline. And I think there was a night scene of Babylon that was also beautiful.Best regardsHalil

[Halil]

Hello LucianI totally agree with you - Alexander is so complex, and that's a huge portion of his charm and the main reason why so many people are still fascinated by him after all this time. Part of the problem of portraying him, of course, is that he was a genius on more than one level. In order to write about someone like Alexander, you have to have an understanding of what it is like to *be* someone like that, or at least, what it is like to be around someone like that. Not many people can claim to know anyone even remotely like him. The best writers write about what they know, if they don't know him, or someone like him, how can they possibly write about him? I think it's why movies about Alexander seem doomed from the start.Best regardsHalil