A good job by Peterson and his cast and crew, could've been better, could've been worse...

Rating: 6/10 (14 May 2004)

Wolfgang Peterson and David Benioff's adaptation of Homer's Illiad story, about the battles and people beneath one of the greatest wars in human history, is like a 2nd place science fair project by a kid in middle school. You're impressed, but there's still some things that keep it from the prize. Troy is loaded with CGI visuals carried over in tradition from Gladiator and LOTR, has wonderful cinematography by Roger Pratt, and certain scenes and performances are near perfect (Peter O'Toole in particular). But that doesn't mean Peterson's vision doesn't carry with it some flaws.
Some of the visual effects, though intricate and vast, are a little much at times. In a sense they work well for the production, but I thought the film might've benefited from more extras, much like a big-scale production from the Golden age of Hollywood. Stars like Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, and Orlando Bloom are more or less capable to hold up the film, with Pitt creating conflict and poise in his Achilles where it sometimes isn't needed, Bana creating a directness with what's around him, and Bloom giving some over-acting (or under-acting) for his Paris. The female characters aren't of much praise and speculation except that their main part in the film is to discourage the men from fighting. This, as well as the score by James Horner with a single female singing voice in most battle scenes, gets a little much as well.
It seems as though Peterson is fond of dramatic excess in this film, and it serves as both an asset and a crutch. For example, in the fight scene between Achilles and Hector, there are repeated cut-aways to close-ups with the royal family looking on. This would be fine if it wasn't interferring so much with the action going on. This same focus on the fights and battle sequences also gets diverted with the score and cut-aways. But the good side to this is that this stylized, glossy, and occasionally brutal action gets pumped up. That's how I felt overall about this picture- it's exciting, interesting summer fare, but it won't be a big contender against the epics of the past, or even the other action films due this summer and year. B-