Oliver Stone has made many a film that didn't say enough to earn its running time. Nixon took two rambling hours before getting to the nub of the character in Watergate, and the whole of JFK could be reduced down to Kevin Costner saying "back and to the left". But none of his films are quite as bloated, self-important or bemusing as his ill-fated epic Alexander, which also contains Jolie's most perplexingly bad performance. Alexander is an epic historical drama based on the story of Alexander the Great (Colin Farrell). Narrated by Ptolemy I Soler (Anthony Hopkins), the fim chronicles Alexander's reign as King of Macedonia and his numerous victorious over Asia Minor, Egypt, Persia and parts of modern-day India. Much focus is placed on Alexander's personal difficulties, including the strained relationship with his father Philip II (Val Kilmer) and his growing distance from his wife Roxana (Rosario Dawson). Even by the standards of historical epics, Alexander is a dreadful mess, a carefree vanity project which isn't exciting or interesting in any of its versions. But while Farrell's performance has had its fair share of stick over the years, it's hard to forget just how bad Jolie is as Olympias. Aside from the overly glamourous get-up and the ridiculous accent, she has no chemistry with Farrell and doesn't make us believe any of the lines she's delivering. She seems completely disinterested in the part, content to sit around enjoying the hair and costumes without giving us our money's worth. It's her most shallow performance to date, and therefore it's easily her worst. Disagree with my choices? Drop me a comment or visit Mumby at the Movies for more reviews.
Freelance copywriter, film buff, community radio presenter. Former host of The Movie Hour podcast (http://www.lionheartradio.com/ and click 'Interviews'), currently presenting on Phonic FM in Exeter (http://www.phonic.fm/). Other loves include theatre, music and test cricket.
