It's a grudge match 2300 years in the making: in this corner, Alexander the Great wielding a sword handed down from Apollo. And in the other corner: his jealous cousin Herodotus. That's the imaginative premise of this handsomely lensed, bluntly directed reincarnation action picture.
Beefing up traditional martial artistry with swordplay is a savvy move, but the film's plot never takes off. Instead of taking off from the premise that Alexander the Great is back in town, this ho-hum film peters out into nothingness.
What are those blue-lit flashbacks sinewy detective Andrew (Lorenzo Lamas) experiences at crime scenes, especially after homicides? Doesn't he realize that touching the wounds of dead people will cause seizures, lead to flashback visions of ancient Persia and prevent him from providing back-up
for his tough-talking partner Nick (Nicholas Pasco)? Could the key to the hallucinations lie in the theft of a priceless sword, stolen from an ancient history exhibit designed by curator Julie (Claire Stansfield)? She's nearly rubbed out at a warehouse; her guard isn't so lucky.
During a fencing match, Andrew catches the eye of Stratos (Michael Champion), a Greek Tycoon obsessed with ancient world conquerors. After Julie is threatened by Jo-Jo (Raoul Trujillo), the thug who slew the guard and pilfered Alexander's sword, Andrew becomes her full-time protector. Plagued by
what his psychiatrist (Michael Copeman) calls "post-mortem telepathy," Andrew accepts Stratos' offer to compete in illegal, lethal swordplay entertainments that use real blades instead of foils. When Andrew finally works his way up to the Swordplay finals, he duels with Jo-Jo but is unable to
retrieve the sword of Alexander. By the time Andrew nearly dies dabbling with an experimental dream-enhancing drug that could explain his visions, Stratos has murdered Jo-Jo and Nick and kidnapped Julie. Finally understanding that he is Alexander the Great, reborn, and that Stratos is the
reincarnation of his murderous cousin Herodotus, Andrew fences with Stratos, but this time, the '90s Alexander the Great slices up the bad guy, breaking the dream cycle.
While not a disaster, this melange of historical fable, Shirley MacLaine-style theorizing, and standard cop drama doesn't pulse with suspense. Once the basic gimmick is outlined and we meet the Stratos character, we know history is going to repeat itself--sort of. Shot from a variety of angles,
the swordplay is a relief after an overdose of kickboxing spectacles, but not that thrilling in and of itself. In other respects, every tedious action movie staple is in predictable place: comic sidekick, feisty love interest, millionaire arch-villain, etc. Nothing is done to reconceive them or
juggle them about in the plot in inventive ways. Time travel is a standby of action adventures, but the dream sequences with Lorenzo as Alexander look like tacky outtakes from a children's TV show. As Stratos, Champion is grey and paunchy-looking, years older than Lamas, which makes him
implausible as Lamas' nemesis. Although Lamas has found a cozy niche in straight-to-video action pics, his smug athleticism wears thin; he seems more concerned with artlessly tossing his shoulder-length hair than in saving the world from born-again megalomaniacs. The film's premise may be clever,
but its execution is right off the action flick assembly line. (Nudity, violence, sexual situations, profanity.) leave a comment