The historical military epic genre has had its ups and downs in the last decade or so. Braveheart won Oscars out the yin yang, as did Gladiator, while Troy was somewhat less well-received. One thing you could say positively about all of these films, however, was the fact that they contained a hefty amount of combat. Not so “Alexander,” which features perhaps 25 minutes of actual battle footage in its 176 minute running time, and the bulk of that early on during the Battle of Gaugamela. What there is of it is well shot, but it doesn’t really amount to anything we haven’t seen before. The rest of the time, the film drones on and on as each character has to give voice to his long-winded feelings, punctuated by the doddering Ptolemy reminding us of what a Great Man Alexander was. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like a movie celebrating the life of the greatest military conqueror the world has ever known should feature a bit more conquering.
Could it that Mr. Stone has, you know, issues?
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