"I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts."

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2004)

Wolfgang Petersen's "Troy" is well-directed, well-acted, and the production value is very well done. However, this film follows in the footsteps of many other superior films that all make their point more strongly than this one. It is a very competent film, but I think is little more than a large-scale spectacle movie that is lost amidst all the sub-plots and characters. Had this been a six-hour mini-series on television, it probably would have played better with these many characters. Very distinct echoes of "Saving Private Ryan" and, most especially "Gladiator" are very noticable throughout this film. Even the score for this film is almost directly plagarized from "Gladiator". The one thing that distinguishes this film from the others of its kind is the question of who to care for more: The Greeks or the Trojans? On one hand, we have the Greeks, who have entered this war for glory and revenge. Their king, Agamemmnon (Brian Cox) is a power-hungry madman. Their greatest warrior, Achilles (Brad Pitt) is a fearsome and brutal killer who does so for his own glory and eternal fame. Then we have the Trojans, who are fighting this war at their doorstep because of the love of the prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) has taken Helen (Diane Kruger), the wife of another Greek king, Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) who is brother to Agamemmnon, back to Troy with him, severing the fragile peace that the Greeks and Trojans have just made. The king of Troy, Priam (An excellent Peter O'Toole) has no desire for war, but will fight to protect his son and his city. There is also Prince Hector (An excellent Eric Bana, who can finally live down "The Hulk") who is a great but reluctant warrior who wants no more fighting so that he can live and be a husband and father. However, fate and the gods seem to conspire against all who inhabit this world. From what I understand, this film has taken liberties with the "history" of this story and made it a modern re-telling with flawed and decidedly modern-type characters instead of the legends of mythology. Unfortunately, there is a great deal of confusion and obvious suspensions-of-disbelief with many of the characters. Another element that this film suffers from is its frenetic battle scenes. The editing makes it very difficult to tell who is who a great deal of the time. Also, some of the performances are a little flat. Pitt, who I think is a wonderful actor who has shown in films like "se7en", "Ocean's Eleven", and "Fight Club" that he is more than just a pretty face and well-chiseled body. But as Achilles, he tends to wander a bit. Bloom, whose Legolas in "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy catapulted him to stardom and his role in "Pirates of the Carribean" only helped to solidify him as one of the next big things, is very one-note. Meanwhile, it is the women who suffer the most. Kruger, and Saffron Burrows, as the wife of Hector, have very little to do other than cry a lot and look pretty. Cox, who has his share of great performances from "Manhunter" to "L.I.E." sees fit to portray Agamemmnon as a brutal savage with no mercy and is the biggest cookie-cutout character of all of the players. The player in this film that will probably go unrecognized for his great work is the great Sean Bean for his wise and heartfelt portrayal of Odysseus. This is decent summer fare, but don't expect it to perform at the Oscars as well as "Saving Private Ryan" or "Gladiator".