So this is what a $200 million movie looks like....

Rating: Null/10 (27 May 2004)

**POSSIBLE SPOILERS BELOW!!**
If Troy is a true representation of what $200 million looks like on celluloid, then there should be a government law prohibiting that feat from ever being achieved again. Obviously, Wolfgang Peterson & Co. could've done a MUCH better job with the budget they had; what they give us is an uninspiring, flat and soul-less 'epic'...if you could call it that. Troy just doesn't have the feel that it's obviously looking for. For all that money and big CGI-cluttered battle scenes, this 2 1/2 hour film failed to move me....and that's a pretty amazing thing to do if one thinks about it. As far as casting goes, the only actors that are worth mentioning are Brian Cox, Peter O'Toole and, especially, Eric Bana, who was just excellent in his role. Hector was the only character you could really feel for, there was so much sincerity in his acting you couldn't help but root for him. Now, onto supposed 'star' of the film........
Brad Pitt was just horrible in his role as Achillies. It was apparent to me as soon as he appeared on screen for the first time that he was just NOT the right person for this part. NOTHING about him in this movie screamed 'Greek warrior'. It was more like 'California surfer dude'. What a terrible casting choice. He was probably chosen because they were aiming for the summer blockbuster and figured all the females would pay the $9-10 to see Brad Pitt's body. In that respect they'll probably succeed, but as far as his performance/his ability to help carry the film, he was simply a disaster. It's a shame that Orlando Bloom still gets work....the boy just CAN'T ACT!! His Paris moved right up there on my 'Most Annoying Charactes of All Time' list....I wrote the movie off when I saw that he was going to live through the film. I'm just happy that, after reading another review on here, that his surviving and killing Achillies DID NOT happen the real story by Homer. And what was the deal with Briseis killing Agamemnon??? Obviously Homer's classic was Hollywood-fied beyond measure.... whatever happened to just taking a story AS IS and putting it on screen???

What's so sad about Troy is the fact that all that money was put into it and it still comes out so mediocre. Nowhere near the prestige and excellence of other war epics such as Gladiator, Braveheart, hell even The Patriot is better! It just doesn't come off as genuine, you don't feel for any of the characters. There was no sense of who was good from who was bad (don't know if the story projects this same dilemma), so that made it even harder to feel for anyone on screen. Troy is just bad all around, some 'summer blockbuster' this turned out to be....pretty trashy movie.

** out of **** stars. (for Bana, Cox & O'Toole's performances, the Achillies/Hector battle and the fireball scene)