Troy Movie Review:


Based on Homer’s The Iliad, Wolfgang Petersen’s epic Troy has its moments of spectacle, but also numerous problems with balance and structure. With a budget of nearly 200 million, Troy is one of summer’s most expensive and riskiest films. The main problem audiences will have with this film is that there is not one central figure or side to route for. Petersen nearly butchers Homer’s The Iliad and tells it his own way, which is at times enjoyable, but more or less faltering. Troy is a film that bangs on the door, but never quite punches through or knocks it down.

Mostly everyone knows the story, which takes place during 1200 BC and is cause by Helen (Diane Kruger), who is referred to as the face that launched 1,000 ships. The beautiful Helen is romantically swept away from her home of Sparta by the Prince of Paris of Troy (Orlando Bloom), who was visiting Sparta along with his noble brother Hector (Eric Bana) in terms of peace between the two lands. Once word gets to Helen’s much older husband, King Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson), he asks his brother Agamemnon (Brian Cox), King of the Mycenaeans, to siege Troy and bring Helen back. Agamemnon agrees, but does not care about Helen or his brother; he is more interested in conquering Troy to gain control of the Aegean, the last piece of his intended empire. However, the only way that Troy will fall will be by the leadership of the arrogant but great warrior Achilles (Brad Pitt), who hates Agamemnon and only fights for his own greater glory. After uniting all of the Greeks to attack, Achilles is persuaded to fight do to the mark he may make on this historic war. As the thousands of ships and warriors make their way to the sands of Troy, King Priam (Peter O’Toole) believes that the gigantic walls of the city will protect his people, along with the heroism of his general son, Hector.
The film then delivers numerous non-stop war sequences and unspirals a story of many complex characters’ actions of duty, love, and honor.

The scale of production on this film is its most impressive feature, the sets are immaculate, and especially the exteriors and interiors of Troy as are the 1,000-boat armada that are sailed by the Greeks. However, the brutal combat war sequences have been done far better in a sense of awe, such as six months ago with Peter Jackson’s work in The Return of the King or the feverish impact of Mel Gibson’s Braveheart. The battle sequences in Troy also seemed choppy at times. With continuos long and swooping shots and the gigantic forces on each side, it is puzzling at times when characters are literally standing around, or stop to tell one another there has been enough fighting for today.

Petersen and screenwriter David Benioff also take their liberties with just about everything in the story. It is pretty much a must to make changes, due the incredible disunity and complexity of Homer’s work. First and foremost, the aspect of the Gods’ guidance and Zeus himself are totally left out, with the characters only speaking of worship and asking for protection from the Gods, such as Apollo, or a soldier thanking Poseidon for giving them a safe journey across the seas.

However, the film is switched off of Helen and the conflicting nations, to being more focused on the warrior Achilles. Petersen and Benioff struggle with the notions of a central figure or a side to chose, in which though Achilles inhabits the focus, Hector is much more of a identifiable character for audiences. It is almost that the film is disjointed, because the film becomes all about Achilles, when the first act focuses on the war over Helen. Speaking of Helen, she among other characters just arise and exit when need be with absolutely no depth, including the pivotal character of Odysseus (Sean Bean). Benioff also implements the Trojan Horse from The Aenied, not The Iliad, which works for the most part in this film. The most disheartening addition to this story, is the romance between Achilles and Hector and Paris’ cousin Briseis (Rose Byrne), who is captured by the Greeks during one of the film’s early battles. This love theme was just thrown in to have another element to interest audience members away from the brutal war aspects, it is more stale than crisp.

Brad Pitt is stirring in his role as the multi-layered warrior Achilles, but it is Eric Bana as Hector, who steals the show. Bana, who was flaky last year in Ang Lee’s The Hulk, is terrific as the honorable family man Hector, who like in The Iliad is the film’s most sympathetic and sensible character. Orlando Bloom brings more to the character of Paris than he is given, but he does make an applicable coward in love. Brian Cox is a little over the top, but nonetheless enjoyable as the greedy Agamemnon. As Helen, Diane Kruger does not have too much to do except look pretty and occasionally cry; it does seem that she did what she could with what was given to her. Sean Bean is also underused as the Greek leader and Achilles’ friend Odysseus. Peter O’Toole makes a return to the screen as Troy’s King Priam. There are times when O’Toole’s intense stares look as if he is possessed by a ghost, but the veteran actor has some great scenes in the film, including one between he and Pitt’s Achilles.

There is no denying that Troy is a massive film. It just stumbles occasionally along the way, and runs into the problems of balance. The production is a true spectacle full of continuos battle sequences with a lot of blood and CGI. Eric Bana shines most from the diverse, but very talented work by the actors of the film. James Horner's effective score is also effectual, but comes nowhere close to blinding Wolfgang Petersen afflicted decision-making.

Grade: C

Joseph Tucker

One of the greatest wars of the Ancient World was forged between rivals Greece and Troy. The war itself and its immortal heroes were chronicled by legendary scribe Homer in his immortal epic, “The Iliad”. The many players who inhabited that legendary tale are brought to life in a new film.

The film’s chronicling of the events introduces the internal struggle between venomous King Agamemnon (Brian Cox) and the immortal Achilles (Brad Pitt) then follows loyal Hector (Eric Bana) and coward Paris (Orlando Bloom) as they take Queen Helen of Sparta (Diane Kruger) to the walled city of Troy. Paris is deeply in love with the tormented Helen but upon Greek shores a massive army is forming to bring Helen back. For once the Greek kingdoms have something they can fight as one country. This makes Agamemnon very happy as he has finally found an excuse to storm the walls of Troy. And he will bring the fierce Achilles along for the ride.

Director Wolfgang Petersen’s epic is a dynamic recreation of the world of Ancient Greece, the political entanglements and the epic Trojan battle. Petersen’s epic battle sequences and the duels between characters are overwhelming, thought captivating and utterly meticulous. When the film focused on battles it was unforgettable but it was the quiet dialogue-laden political scenes that seemed to ruin the film’s momentum. A lot of the key actors in the ensemble cast seem out of their depth and make some of the key subplots hard to watch.

The perfect example of a weak subplot is the relationship between Paris and Helen. Bloom’s Paris is so unlikable that we really just want to strangle the poor boy. He makes “lovey-dovey” eyes at some guy’s wife and thousands of people die. The couple has no chemistry as lovers so you never really believe that there is something worth fighting for. I can’t really blame Bloom for making Paris such a half-wit but the film should have found some sort of way for us to understand Paris even if it was just a little.

I was very unimpressed with Diane Kruger as Helen. The German actress is way out of her depth as she struggles in every scene. The woman is attractive but is she really worthy of launching 1000 ships. What made Helen tick? Who was this mythical beauty? None of those questions are even touched or explored in Troy.

The film also relies heavily on Pitt’s portrayal of Achilles as the audience probably gets to know him the most in the film. The film’s finale makes it very hard to feel for the character and thus ruins a stalwart performance from Pitt. I really liked Pitt as Achilles. I really liked the storyline between Achilles and the Trojan priestess. From that relationship we actually begin to see a man inside the fluidic killing machine. Their storyline was so much more intriguing than that of Paris and Helen.

I have to admit that I wasn’t to keen on seeing Eric Bana as Hector. But as the film progressed, I really found that Bana grew on me. His restraint in playing Hector makes the champion approachable and relatable. I really liked a lot of what Bana was able to bring to the character. Bana is amazing in the role.

I would have loved to have seen more of Sean Bean as Odysseus. Bean is starting to become such an unforgettable supporting player. His role in this film is almost as powerful as his portrayal of Boromir in “Fellowship of the Ring”. I wonder what it would be like to see Bean’s Odysseus return for a retelling of Homer’s The Odyssey. Well I can dream can’t I?

For me the greatest moments in Troy come from acting legends Brian Cox and Peter O’Toole. These veterans shine in their roles. Cox brings a lot of uneasiness, sarcasm and vulgarity to Agamemnon which does so much for the character. O’Toole’s fragile look and sincerity make his King Priam unforgettable. My favorite scene in the film is the tent scene between a distraught King Priam and Achilles. I loved everything about it. The sad thing is that the rest of the film needed more of that kind of emotional magic

I wanted Troy to be the grand scaled epic that Homer transcribed so many years ago. But the emotion, grandeur and greatness of the story seems to be missing in this retelling. I was hoping the film would be closer to a “Braveheart” or “Gladiator” but something is missing. I just wanted a lot more.

(3.5 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer.

Dean Kish

Adapting Homer's epic poem into an epic movie is a double-edged sword: It brings the superb story to the masses while simplifying it drastically. This film is like The Iliad for Dummies in its one-dimensional approach to what are essentially extremely complex characters.

Achilles (Pitt) is the rebellious star warrior in the Greek empire being built by King Agamemnon (Cox) as he conquers the region's kingdoms one-by-one. Then two princes from Troy, Hector and Paris (Bana and Bloom), abscond with Helen (Kruger), wife of King Menelaus (Gleeson), who happens to be Agamemnon's brother. This gives Agamemnon an excuse to attack Troy with the goal of annexing it to the empire as well. But the Trojan King Priam (O'Toole) has built a mighty fortress on the sea. And even with 1,000 ships and an inspiring fighter like Achilles, Agamemnon is going to have to think of something clever to get in....

OK we all know where the story's going; even if we've never read Homer, this is the tale that launched a thousand cliches! But instead of going for period authenticity or intriguing subtext, the filmmakers turn the saga into a typical action epic. Still, the inventiveness of the narrative shines through: This is a story without a villain! We are drawn into both sides through each character's honour (or lack thereof). And the cast bring this out beautifully: Pitt shows Achilles' deep-rooted sense of honour even as he acts like a spoiled rock star. Bloom brings out Paris' inexperience and cowardice, even as he discovers resolve in his romance with Helen. And best of all, Bana really captures Hector's struggle to balance the demands of family and kingdom.

Meanwhile, Petersen directs with a steady hand--the film looks fabulous! The effects are seamless (it helps that a cast of thousands was actually on hand, even if they look like 100,000 on screen), battles are exciting, and sets and costumes are lovely, if too movie-ish (is it my imagination or is Pitt's designer leather skirt about four inches shorter than everyone else's?). Where the film wobbles is in its silly script, which includes painfully corny lines of dialog that only old hams like O'Toole or bulldogs like Cox can deliver convincingly. If Petersen and Benioff had stayed truer to the original tale and resisted Hollywood's tendency to dumb-down the story and big-up the production design, it could have been masterful.

Rich Cline

1193 B.C., Paris (Bloom) of Troy has taken Helen (Kruger) of Sparta from its ruler Menelaus (Gleeson). Even though the two are in love, his brother Hector (Bana) knows that her husband will not take this lightly and this could mean disaster for Troy. Menelaus calls upon his brother Agamemnon
(Cox) to unite the kingdoms of Greece and form an army like the world has never seen. Leading that force into battle would be the Greek’s most feared
warrior, Achilles (Pitt).

The sword and sandals epic returns with a dramatic retelling of Homer’s tragic poem The Iliad, the problem is that it is more Hollywood than Greek
mythology.

The classic tale of war, passion, power and love was crying out for the big screen treatment but Wolfgang Petersen’s interpretation, while dramatic and gripping in parts, lacks a certain something that would make it a great movie and that’s decent dialogue. Anyone who has seen 25th Hour will know that David Benioff can write dialogue but with Troy we just seem to have an abundance of speeches, now the standard in all big screen epics, and some truly awful lines in between. Everything seems so dumbed down and when you think that this is meant to be representing a civilisation that influenced every aspect of the modern world, it makes it all the more frustrating.

The cast is extremely impressive however and the saving grace of the film. Eric Bana proves again that he is an actor to watch. His portrayal of Trojan
prince Hector is the highlight of the film. This is a warrior who sees the true consequences of battle and enters the field with honour and respect.
Bana captures this superbly, making the character the real hero of the piece.

Orland Bloom continues to impress, even though his character Paris has most of the truly appalling dialogue. The poor lad has to confess his love with
some of the most sick inducing lines imaginable but as with all his performances, he gives 100%.

German actress Diane Kruger is Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships but to be honest she would be lucky to start someone rowing on a
boating lake. It’s not that Kruger isn’t a beautiful woman, far from it but she just doesn’t have that stunning element that would make you think that
Paris would risk everything to be with her. This is mainly the fault of the script, as it doesn’t really give her enough screen time to make you
emphasise with the character, to see why she would go to Troy.

There is fantastic support from the illustrious Peter O’Toole as Priam the King of Troy. His screen presence along brings a certain amount of class to
the picture with a riveting performance. The same can be said of Brian Cox and Brendan Gleeson as Agamemnon and Menelaus, who could be classed as the villains of the film, even though history doesn’t see them that way. Cox plays the power hungry conquer with great zeal and Gleeson is as good as ever as his revenge-crazed brother. Sean Bean continues his good run as Odysseus but the character does have a rather amusing 1970s footballer’s perm. The beautiful Rose Byrne is also good as Briseis.

The film is all about Brad Pitt’s portrayal of Achilles however. For a Hollywood superstar who is known just as much for his personal life as he is
for his diverse acting career, this is a commanding, attention grabbing role for the talented thespian. As women swoon at the sight of semi naked star in
a skirt, men will cheer as he despatches Trojan soldiers with ease and gasp in awe as the inevitable battle between Hector and Achilles dominates the
screen. Pitt’s energy and power makes the movie all the more watchable, making you almost forget the dire dialogue even the great warrior himself
has to spew.

The overall look of the movie is also first rate. You can see every single dollar spent on the screen as the special effects effortlessly blend with
the marvellous set designs and the fabulous costumes. The battle sequences are epic in scale but they don’t have the scope or bloodiness of similar skirmishes in films like Braveheart or The Lord of the Rings.

Troy is more Hollywood entertainment than a history lesson. While this isn’t a bad thing to some degree, it would have been better to stick to the Iliad than take this much artistic license. With great performances slightly outweighing the terrible dialogue, this is a watchable epic that will keep
you entertained throughout its long running time. Just don’t expect any surprises to pop out of this Trojan horse.

Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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