A decent epic but far from flawless

Rating: 7/10 (29 November 2008)

"Troy" retells the epic story of Homer's "The Iliad", wherein the Greek army descends upon Troy in an attempt to reclaim the legendarily beautiful Helen of Troy.
The basic story is of course familiar to most already, which doesn't exactly work in the film's favour. Nevertheless, the story is an entertaining one which modern visual effects bring to life in a vivid manner. Wolfgang Peterson's direction is well-handled throughout while James Horner's score is serviceable though not particularly remarkable.
Unfortunately, the film's technical prowess is let down by some poor casting. I ought not to be surprised that in a multi-million dollar epic like this the producers focused on star power to drive the film. This led to some questionable casting choices. Brad Pitt & Eric Bana are not cut out for this sort of thing. A lot of their dialogue sounds stilted, although I must admit that they handle the physical aspects of their parts very well. Peter O'Toole hardly seems like his heart is in it (with the exception of one scene) and I don't think that I'd single out anyone at all as having given a standout performance.
Nevertheless, if you enjoy epic films like me then you may find this one to your liking. However, with the poor casting the problems of the film are difficult to ignore.