As Hollywood epics go, not a bad try

Rating: Null/10 (16 May 2004)

We saw Troy last night.
Frankly, I was expecting the worse, and I was pleasantly surprised. Overall, this is an enjoyable movie (though not one you would watch over and over again).
Naturally, the movie is a very rough approximation of Homer. But Hollywood was never known for sticking to the text or carrying about historical details. But on the plus side, you see Petersen taking the text, and putting his own original imprint on it. Homer's Trojan War was essentially a war of gods using men (or should I say, goddesses) to wage battles on Mount Olympus. But the movie chucks all gods and talks about war as it really is - a product of human greed and hunger for power. At times, the movie really felt like an anti-war movie in some respects.
As for the actors, I was really impressed with Eric Bana (Hector) - he really came off as genuine human and humble hero. I also really liked Peter O'Toole as Priam - a man with honor most kings would not and did not have. Ditto for the actor who played Odysseus. Even Brad Pit (Achilles) did a decent job portraying a man who views military prowess as the only way to secure his place in history, but eventually realizes the insanity of killing others for the sake of glory.
The movie did have a few rough spots. Selection of Diana Kruger as Helen of Troy was probably a mistake - she just does not seem the type over which men would spend decades fighting about. But may be Petersen had a point - the war was not really about Helen at all. For my money, she was not even the best-looking woman in the movie - that honor goes to Hector's wife. In any event, I would have preferred to see Gabrielle Anwar or Keira Knightley as Helen. Hey, I am biased:)
Also, the bit about Helen running away with Paris to "grow old with him" was just silly - Paris, as portrayed by Orlando Blum, is young and weak and runs from bed to bed. He just is not likely to inspire that kind of sentiment in a woman.
The movie also could have used some better background information. Achilles' military prowess and his eventual death do not make sense unless you know that Achilles has divine power on his side and has only one vulnerable spot - the one that would lead to his demise.
But overall - a good experience. I recommend it.