could have been a lot worse

Rating: 5/10 (26 June 2004)

'Troy', directed by Wolfgang Petersen, best known for 'Das Boot', suffers a bit from the casting of Brad Pitt as Achilles and having him show off his buffed and toned body frequently. But it isn't chronic miscasting - not my idea of the famed Spartan warrior, but surprisingly convincing at key points in the story.
The story of 'Troy', of course, really starts when Paris, a Trojan prince (a disappointing Orlando Bloom), steals away with Helen, Queen of Sparta (Diane Kruger, whose chief acting talent lies in lowering her kohled eyes and looking sad), and in doing so, raises the hackles of her husband, Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) and his brother Agamemnon, a power hungry king (played very well by Brian Cox). And so the thousand ships are launched and all the kingdoms of Greece go to war against Troy, a city ruled by the god-fearing King Priam (Peter O'Toole), father of both Paris and the great warrior Hector (Eric Bana).
In a nutshell, that's it. Those of you who know the Iliad will find few surprises here, although the final act contains a few liberties with history. There are many well-known faces amongst the ageing lords and warriors of Greece and Troy (Julian Glover, Trevor Eve, Nigel Terry, John Shrapnel, and Sean Bean) so there's some fun to be had from spotting who plays who. Julie Christie also has a brief appearance as Achilles' mother, Thetis, and despite having aged considerably has retained her mysterious beauty from her peak in the 1960s. To my mind, though, the best person in the cast is O'Toole, in a tour-de-force performance as the doomed king - probably a role he could do in his sleep, but nevertheless engaging.
As for Pitt, there's a touch too much posing in his performance as Achilles, but it could have been a lot worse. It is also significant that even with the removal of direct intervention from the Gods, they still figure heavily within the fears and beliefs of the men at war. 'Troy' is ultimately an action flick with dialogue to pad it out, but it could have been much, much worse.