The 252-minute feature film, which combines historical facts and folklore, tells the story of Cleopatra's half-life from the first time she met Caesar to her death, along with the ups and downs of the Roman Republic and the Kingdom of Egypt. Overall, it can be regarded as a rare epic historical blockbuster in Hollywood. But in my opinion, there are indeed many regrets. The first is the lack of focus. The director seems to want to evenly distribute every minute of the film throughout Cleopatra's life. It is true that Cleopatra had a dramatic life full of ups and downs, but the expression that is too run-of-the-mill accounts can't make people cheer up. Then there are too many love scenes. Whether it was Cleopatra, Caesar, or Anthony, they were first and foremost politicians. They have two powerful countries and civilizations, Rome and Egypt, on their backs. Their first consideration must be political factors, not their children's personal love. The first half and Caesar are just about right, but the second half of the heavy part is completely caught in a Hollywood-style love mode. Of course, as a work of art emphasizing love is always irreproachable, but as a more serious historical film, the ignorance of political factors by Anthony and Cleopatra in the second half is unforgivable. Also, the sense of history and culture is not strong enough. The period of Cleopatra was the period when the Roman Republic turned to the Roman Empire, the period when Egypt was reduced to a Roman province, and the period when the entire Western civilization turned from Hellenism to Romanization. How many historical events happened at this time, how many historical heroes emerged at this time. But the director is stuck in Alexander's harem, between Cleopatra's bed, the struggle for power in the Roman Senate, the famine and plague in Egypt, and the distribution of power after Caesar's death. The focus is unclear and the consequences of overdone love scenes. In a word, a historical film that grows in the soil of Hollywood fast food movies, no matter how beautiful and lovely it looks, it will still bear the fruit of Hollywood flavor. But I have to say, Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra really can make the world surrender under her pomegranate skirt.
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