Gladiator is to blame!

Rating: Null/10 (25 November 2004)

I don't know how the whole "swords-and-sandals"-trend started this time around. But i can take a qualified guess and say that it started with Gladiator, and of course all the Oscars that rained down on that film and it's cast. Just so you know who to blame for this bore.
Troy is based on an epic by the Greek Homer. Since it's a genuine Greek tragedy one should not expect laughter and brightness to be the bulk of the film. It starts off with Troy making peace with Sparta. However the Troyan prince Paris can not keep his hands away from the Spartan king's wife, and as he steals her away the Spartan king promises to destroy Troy. The whole Greek army comes with him and they lay siege to Troy, among the Greeks is also the great warrior Achilles.
I don't think movies that are slow are necessarily bad. I think a slow and thoughtful pace can sometimes heighten the experience. But Troy just seems to drag on forever. And, can you say pretentious? I don't really know what they wanted to make here. Did they want an action take on history, like in Gladiator? Did they want a loyal and truthful rendition of a classic story? Or did they just want people endlessly walking around i loincloths murmuring pointlessly to each other?! I don't think the last alternative was what they were aiming for, but i'm afraid that's what they got.
Of course there are forgiving attributes. The acting is above par in many cases. Especially Brian Cox as king Agamemnon and Eric Bana as Hector stand out in my eyes. Eric Bana is increasingly becoming one of my favorites on the big screen. Brad Pitt however feels tragically miscast as Achilles, and his blond muscular surfer-look never really conveys the feeling of a "great warrior". And Orlando Bloom still remains one of the most overrated actors of our time, this is another stiff and uninteresting performance from him.
But in the end, the actors neither save nor destroy this film. A script with more depth and perhaps more background to makes us feel "inside" the story would have been needed. Also the pace should be quicker. If they moved a little faster and cut 20-30 minutes the movie could actually have been watchable. They could also have worked a bit on the period setting. It doesn't feel too convincing when all the actors have perfectly toned muscles, waxed and evenly tanned bodies and cleanly shaved faces. This is a constant annoyance in period-pieces like this.
While Gladiator felt like a great film in the vein of (for instance) Ben Hur, Troy only feels "big". It looks expensive, feels expensive, but never really achieves that feeling you need to make it a true epic.
A disappointment to say the least. I rate it 4/10.