“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect...” - Mark Twain
We went to I-Utama straight from office and bought us tickets for the 8 o’clock movie.
As it was ladies’ night, got a discount for one ticket. Unfortunately, the only seats available were two rows from the front and we nearly sprained our necks to watch the 3-hour movie.
The film tells the tale of Alexander the Great, who conquered almost all of the known world by the age of 25 and was dead by 33. In an age when myths were real and kings could become gods, Alexander envisioned himself as the new Achilles, striking out for the East once more but this time for a prize greater than Troy — the Persian Empire and beyond. Collin Farrell plays the military leader while Angelina Jolie plays his mother.
A few scenes are truly breathtaking, including an aerial shot of the battle of Gaugamela where Alexander's 50,000 man army defeated a Prussian army of some 250,000 and a beautifully choreographed standoff of horse versus elephant. The film as a whole is a bromidic character portrait short on character and big on lavishness. Despite the elaborate setting and fighting scenes, the story was too slow.
We nearly dozed off during some scenes.
.JPG)
