Alexander: The Final Cut (2007)

As a huge fan of Oliver Stone, I’ve spent a long time analysing the supposed pros and cons of the now four different versions of his take on the life of Alexander the Great. In the end I went for the ‘final cut’, Stone’s behemoth three and a half hour version, although it’s not the most recent, that would be the ‘ultimate cut’ from 2013. What is immediately apparent is that Alexander (played by Irishman Colin Farrell) and all his close companions speak with an Irish accent. Apparently this was done deliberately, presumably to give some sort of cultural familiarity to the lead cast, but it certainly feels a bit strange. Stone has tinkered with the film for over a decade since its theatrical release (it was a flop) and despite not having seen any of the other versions you can feel the epic narrative and sweeping story that he is striving for in this final cut, even if he ultimately falls well short of achieving the same heft as Lawrence of Arabia (1962) or Cleopatra (1963) for example, both touch points of Stone’s for this film. A more appropriate comparison would be Wolfgang Peterson’s Troy (2004), a film that I rather liked despite its somewhat lukewarm reception on release. Farrell is a screen presence I find almost always gripping, and although many have sniggered at his portrayal of Alexander, I thought he was engaging and watchable without ever being much more than that. Generally the performances are fine, Angelina Jolie and Val Kilmer as his parents are convincingly opposing, and there’s a small cameo from the late Christopher Plummer, who would probably walk off with the film if he was in it for any length of time. The battle sequences are impressive, and there's no doubting Stone's will for this to work, but despite his best efforts Alexander fails in its efforts to become a timeless classic. 6.0/10