nice to see

Rating: 8/10 (2 September 2006)

I know that some people have slammed this movie but i really enjoyed it,the leaving out of the Gods was a smart move i think,the characters are doing what they do of their own free will,and it was nice to see the moral ambiguities of the situation,Helen shouldn't have run off with Paris(not once in the film is she made to face the reality that her and Paris"s selfish actions have doomed an entire city to destruction),but the way that Agamemnon jumps on the situation as a pretext for attacking Troy reveals that its probably the best thing he could wish for.Brad Pitt as Achilles was very good,on the surface he is an unstoppable warrior,afraid of nothing and convinced of his own greatness but the scenes with Briseis show him in a more human light as if he is suddenly regretting that he will never have a family or a normal home life,people might fear and respect him but nobody will ever really love him,his world is and always will be a cold and blood soaked place and he is less a human being and more a human weapon.The only character that comes across as having any real honour or decency is Hector,Eric Bana played him perfectly, a reluctant hero forced into a situation that he really doesn't want to be in but totally committed to the defence of his city and family,the final duel between him and Achilles is a heart breaker,when that spear point is driven home you know its all over,not just for Hector but Troy as well.On a minor note it was good to see that at the start of the fight they begin with spears which you don't often see in movies,usually it goes straight to swords.I know that this film plays fast and loose with the original story but its not a problem unless you are a total stickler for such things and it proves that human nature is much the same now as it was 3000 years ago.