Slightly unsatisfying but big on spectacle

Rating: 8/10 (25 May 2004)

This is a film that I had been anticipating for some time. The story of Achilles and the Trojan Wars is steeped in legend and had a great deal of potential. Unfortunately, not all of that potential has been fulfilled by director Petersen.
As for the basic plot, Agamemnon is a Greek King with a lust for power and control of Greece and the Aegean who is forced to rely upon a tempremental, unpredictable warrior, Achilles. Meanwhile, his brother Meneleaus, is the King of Sparta who is trying to foster peace with Troy. However, his wife Helen, is tempted away from him by the Trojan prince, Paris, and as a result, Troy and Greece are forced into war. Whilst this plot is suitably epic and the battle scenes are impressive. In particular, the scenes at night both on the beach and in Troy are spectacular. However, whilst the politics and romantic subplots should be equally interesting and keep you enthralled during the downtime away from the battles. Unfortunately, this is not the case and instead, I felt somewhat disinterested and uninspired by some of the less up-tempo scenes. In short, the film lacked rhythm and was too staccato in its pacing.
Much has been made of the casting in this film, however I believe that most of the main players was well cast. Brad Pitt does not give his best performance and I was left wanting a performance with more gravitas (compare his performance to that of Russell Crowe in Gladiator). However, he embodies the spirit of Achilles well and certainly looks the part. It is also hard to think of another actor who could play that role.

Of the lead warriors, in my opinion, it is Eric Bana who puts in the best performance. A devoted husband, son and father and slightly more measured in his enthuiasm for the fight that Achilles, he is a more complicated and multi-dimensional character as a result. Equally, Orlando Bloom gives the best performance of his that I have seen (but then there has been little good to compare it with). However, his delivery still feels a little stunted and as his character, Paris, he is no match for Pitt or Bana. Kudos should also be given to Peter O'Toole as King of Troy, Priam. His scenes with Brad Pitt show him to be a masterful actor and he gives a really human performance which impressed me. However, some of the actors are criminally underused. This particularly applies to Diane Kruger as Helen, who is hardly given any screentime, despite her role in what ultimately plays out and Sean Bean, who is good but essentially a filler character forgotten about too often.
Make no mistake, this film is fun and spectacular but it doesn't reach the highs that you ultimately wish it would. Also, at almost 3 hours in length, the downtime and sometimes silly romantic sub-plots do not keep us particularly enthralled for the full running time. In short, good but not GREAT, and this is a film that to succeed needs to be great.