Excellent - More than just big fight scenes - Spoilers I guess

Rating: 9/10 (22 May 2004)

I really enjoyed Troy and I actually think that it is a better film that Lord of the Rings (LOTR) and a much better film than Gladiator or Braveheart. Films that Troy is often compared to.
Troy doesn't use the old "revenge plot" as the main theme as Gladiator does. And the story is much more complicated than the boring "good vs. evil and good is sure to win" plot used in many films incl. LOTR.
Instead Wolfgang 'Das Boot' Petersen has created a film that appeals to the mass audience while still having a number of intriguing points:
First, this clearly is an antiwar story. It's not a good vs. evil story where the fighting is necessary for justice to prevail. Instead both sides in the conflict have likable characteristics and heroes. The antiwar theme is also clear at the end of the movie. Nobody has benefited from the war. It has ended as a catastrophe for all.
Secondly, the great hero Achilleus played by Brad Pitt is actually portrayed as rather unlikable and he is unsure what his real purpose in life is. As the story is told Achilleus must chose between the happy but boring family life and the glorious but bloody life of the hero warrior that will give him a place in history. He chooses war, but at the end after meeting Briseis he changes his mind and during the final battle for Troy he is only interested in finding her  which also becomes his destiny. Quite another type of hero than Gladiators revenge driven hero.
All in all a quite enjoyable film with a story line that is both entertaining and thought provoking.