Horrible, Awful, Terrible...

Rating: Null/10 (31 March 2005)

Now and again Hollywood decides to get stuck into some foreign history. And time and time again they trample all over it, chew it up and spit out a flashy but trashy film. Well Troy is no exception to this little rule.
I am not qualified to talk about the history behind this film. I immensely enjoyed Gladiator and that, I'm told, is only based loosely on real event or real characters. I could have liked Troy in the same way if it was a good film, regardless of the way it deals with historical fact.
So lets get down to business:
Fight Scenes: Pretty bad really. The huge battles are reasonably well done, although there are moments when the enemies disappear so the appropriate characters can be on their own at the correct time. The worst part is the dumb manner is which the one on one fight happen. Too much leaping about, which is fine for the Matrix, but we are dealing with swords here.
Acting: Yes I admit I would like to look a bit more like Brad Pitt. But I cannot let him and much of the rest of the cast off for this film, and all of those enigmatic stares they kept doing.
Script: Apparently the writers think that an audience is incredibly stupid and frequently forgets whats going on. At some point it is mentioned that Brad Pitt wants to secure his legacy. Then, just as the stupid audience begins to forget, somebody mentions "he wants people to remember him when he's dead". Then a few minutes later a different character says "Achilles wants men to remember his name in x years time". By this time I want to forget everything about this film.
Camera-work: Picture the scene: something bad happens to an unfortunate character. Other characters leave, giving the disappointed/sad/upset/thoughtful character a good chance to stare at the camera with an appropriate expression to show the audience just how disappointed/sad/upset/thoughtful they are. Maybe this happened less than I thought, but if I noticed it then it must have been bad.
Overall, in my opinion this film is hideous - and Peter O'Toole agrees, so I must be right.