Masterful action epic

Rating: 8/10 (14 February 2007)

Based on Homer's The Iliad, Wolfgang Petersen's Troy is an epic in both scope and feel. Not only does this film look big, it feels big. There is a shot shortly into the film as Achilles is on a ship heading towards war with Troy. The camera pulls back and as the shot gets more distant we begin to see a couple of ships until soon the entire screen is filled with a fleet of Greek warships. It is moments like this that help to define Troy. Never before has the viewer been shown just how it may have been at the famous battle. That is part of the appeal of the epic. Petersen is trying to show us that this was a war where hundreds of thousands of men died. While he could have gone the way of some films and made it more fantastical, Petersen wisely decided to keep this grounded in reality and keeps as true to the facts of the story as history allows him to. I like Brad Pitt. He seems like a personable guy and while I have enjoyed his films, I was worried about him being in this. He seems more like a good old boy than a hardened warrior. Thankfully, I was proved wrong. He comes across very well as Achilles and turns in one of his better performances in my opinion. Peter O'Toole is wonderful as always in the role of King Priam. Orlando Bloom does fine as Paris, bringing a sense of class to his courage to stand up for what he believes in despite his being a non warrior. The real standout of the film for me however, was Eric Bana. This guy was a shocker. After Hulk, I figured he was pretty one note, but his Hector proved me wrong. I hope we see more of him soon. At the end of the day, only one thing brought Troy down for me: Diane Kruger as Helen. This is the woman a kingdom was destroyed for? A little more time spent on finding a better Helen would have served the film far better. Also, I did feel the Trojan Horse scene didn't get enough screen time as it deserved. this was an important piece of the story and it almost feels glossed over. Oh well. For now, Troy stands as the best film adaptation of the war to date.