Trying too hard to be 'epic'

Rating: Null/10 (8 November 2004)

One of the greatest stories ever told, a budget to match, and a cast that should shine in a film such as this... So, why does it not quite work? In my opinion, everything is just too big, too in-your-face to actually move you. This goes for the size of the armies, the effects, the score and the dialogue. It lacks any kind of subtlety.
I blame the scriptwriter and the director. The writer for the dialogues which are meant to ooze heroic pathos but in most cases seem to miss and are just pathetic. The director for the many poor performances in this one: Diane Kruger is certainly beautiful, but all she has to do is cry and look anxious for most of the time. Like her, all that Brad Pitt's Achilles seems to do is look pretty and throw portentous glances around. The changes that his character undergoes are poorly explained in terms of motivation, too. Orlando Bloom's another one cast apparently only for his looks. But what was going on with Brian Cox and Peter O'Toole? Cardboard characters if ever there were some. Evil, power-mad tyrant the one; good, gentle old ruler the other. Since I know they are both capable of so much more, I have to lay the blame at the director's door. During the whole film, one gets the impression that Wolfgang Petersen wanted to do 'his' Gladiator, yet he seems to lack the necessary intuition to do justice to his subject material.
To be fair, it's not all bad though. The battle scenes are excellent, even though they could have been bloodier. Eric Bana is a standout and carries most of the film, and Sean Bean steals every scene he's in as Odysseus. Rose Byrne, Saffron Burrows and Brendan Gleeson manage to do at least something with very little. The middle part, in which the pace picks up and the major battles are fought, is exciting, but overall Troy leaves you with the feeling that it could have been so much better if the focus had been put on the telling of a great story, rather than trying to make it as 'epic' as possible. Good-looking but hollow on the inside, this movie is a Trojan horse in itself.