Delicious action, palatable performances

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2004)

Troy is hardly without its faults. Often lingering with pretentious, sappy dialogue ("I suppose fighting for love makes more sense than all the rest")and irrelevant love scenes involving confessions of love without any convincing story of love, it is also the most splendid, rhythmical films of its true premise: incessant, unflinching, war. Boasting perhaps the most extras I have ever seen in any film (or are they visual effects?), and, next to the Lord of the Rings, some of the most epic, absorbing battles ever captured on film, Troy is a film which thrives solely on its spectacular action. Set aside this element, and the performances of Brad Pitt's cawky, confident Archilles ("You won't have eyes tonight...")and Eric Bana's tempered, ferocious Hector provide at least a tolerable ground for otherwise impassable "love before honor" and "the details of war" scenes. Dependent upon its spectacular, grisly action, and excellent, spellbinding cinematography, "Troy" is the best epic action of the year. ***1/2 out of ****