Excellent historical epic is one of the best of modern times

Rating: 8/10 (22 November 2016)

I've been a fan of these historical epics ever since I saw my first sword-and-sandal film about five years ago and my enthusiasm remains as unabated as ever. TROY is a wonderful movie, the kind of epic you didn't think they made anymore, kind of like GLADIATOR but on a much wider and more expensive scale. I wasn't too concerned about this film after I heard Wolfgang Petersen was the reliable director and he doesn't disappoint again.
Romance, honour, warfare, action, rivalry and politics are all involved in this sweeping movie which is a perfect rendering of state-of-the-art CGI graphics (to simulate the vast armies and thousands of ships) and close human drama. Many critics have remained unswayed, and its true that this film has its fair share of flaws. Some might call the tacked-on romance needless, others may complain that the characters are drawn too simply and in black-and-white (such as Brian Cox's obnoxious, overacting bad guy Agamemnon). Purists are furious that Homer's original work was altered to fit a more mainstream Hollywood ideal. I say, so what? This is great escapist entertainment and there's nothing wrong with that.
There is actually less action than I was hoping for, with one-too-many sequences focusing on Pitt and his girlfriend or Bana and Saffron Burrows,who is actually prettier than the lacklustre Diane Kruger. Kruger just looks like any top model these days and is hardly the "face to launch a thousand ships" that she needed to be. Too conventional – they needed a recognisable actress, not a perma-tanned German girl. Yet the central casting is great – Pitt gets his chance to sink his teeth (and muscles) into a proper and atypical role for a change, whilst the quietly brooding Eric Bana is superb as the introspective Hector who realises his fate is sealed. Supporting acts are great, whether it be Sean Bean as Odysseus (his Wooden Horse is excellently designed) or Brendan Gleeson as the powerful Greek warrior king. Orlando Bloom is a surprise too, in the role of a snivelling coward whom the audience end up hating – nice to see him more than just the bland hero, so kudos for that. Peter O'Toole is as good as ever though a little wasted (in terms of screen time).
I read an interview with Petersen who claimed to have gone all-out with the gore. Not in this version – perhaps it was taken out before released. Still, there are some fine grisly moments for male viewers and plenty of testosterone-inducing action. Watch out for any scene involving Ajax, the huge and quite brilliant warrior, or the opening battle with the huge bald guy played by Australian wrestler Nathan Jones. Battle sequences are fast-paced and vicious and fun to watch, but the best part of the film is the Hector vs. Achilles showdown – it's all downhill from there, leading to a quite perfunctory siege and sacking at the climax. But watching Bana and Pitt slug it out in front of the walls of Troy is certainly one of the most powerful moments I've ever witnessed in a film, and I'm glad they didn't back out of showing the brutality of the times. A superb moment in a good film – there's nothing really to criticise here and it was certainly a lot better than I had been led to expect.