A masterful telling of an epic story

Rating: 10/10 (15 May 2004)

Troy (2004)
I had been keenly anticipating this movie since I saw the trailer last fall and watched the fleet of a thousand ships sailing over the Aegean. In all fairness, The Iliad is my favorite book (well, that and Paradise Lost, depending upon when you ask me), so I would have been interested in any decent-looking attempt to film it. Seeing that Wolfgang Petersen (Das Boot) would be helming it and liking what I saw of the cast, I went into Troy with high hopes.
Troy is an epic and makes no bones about it. While there is effort and detail put into the characters, the scope's the thing, and retelling the greatest war story ever told demands no less. There really are a thousand ships in Agamemnon's fleet; the Greek army stretches to the horizon; Troy herself is a splendid ancient metropolis; and there is much talk of immortality, of the motivations of mankind, nobility, and honor. Troy takes itself seriously, but that's not always a bad thing, and necessary when you're trying to make a real movie as opposed to a mindless action piece.
The only thing I'll say about the plot (one of the most well-known in the world) is that Petersen and screenplay writer David Benioff stick fairly close to the spirit of the book, even if they vary in some of the details (all appearances of the gods - and there are many in Homer's work - have been excised, as have any references to homosexuality). Some character details have been changed and some characters who survived the war in the book die here and vice versa, but much like John Boorman's Excalibur, this film succeeds marvelously at capturing the essence of its source material.
Most of the casting is excellent. Peter O'Toole's Priam is very effective; his nobility and regal bearing win us over at once. Likewise, Eric Bana's Hector is more appealing than in the book; Hector is the real hero of the Trojan side here, but he has been humanized, and he comes off as almost regretting that he such a skilled warrior. Orlando Bloom does a capable job as Paris; personally I have always intensely detested Paris as a character, because he's such a pathetic weakling, but Bloom does his best in trying to imbue Paris with some sort of backbone (he's still weak next to Hector, though). And Diane Kruger's Helen, while she has only limited screen time, is suitably regretful and beautiful; she resembles a prettier, younger Sharon Stone, so you can understand why Menelaus is so ticked off when she leaves.
Benioff took more liberties with the Greeks; Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson, probably best known for being William Wallace's best pal in Braveheart), comes off as kind of a clod, and Agamemnon has been transformed from the proud king of kings into a megalomaniacal George W. Bush, a leader hell-bent on war at any cost who wants to transform the world in his image. Odysseus, another Homeric character I've always loathed, is actually excellent here; Sean Bean plays him as an intelligent, clever warrior rather than as the trickster/rascal he is in the book. And of course, the lion's share of the Greek story is given over to Achilles (Brad Pitt). I was very pleasantly surprised that Achilles' selfish ego was carried over into the movie, and his angry edge is retained. Though he is given a little bit of nobility toward the end, Achilles is not all that far from his literary counterpart, save that he is a little deeper of a thinker.
But how Pitt brings him to life elevates this film. Everyone turns in strong performances, and with exceptional costuming and settings, the story really comes to life. But watching Pitt's Achilles here is like watching Michael Jordan play basketball in his prime; no matter how good the other actor is, Pitt is just better. Pitt shines in the quieter moments as well as in the action sequences. The fighting style they give him is so unique and so flowing that watching him butcher the Trojans is like watching a well-choreographed dance number; in an extraordinary sequence somewhat inspired by the Normandy landing in Private Ryan, Achilles and his Myrmidons storm the Trojan beach and capture the temple of Apollo. It's violent, but also masterfully shot and realized. Likewise the duel between Achilles and Hector is brilliant, well played, showcasing not only some sharp fighting but managing to reflect the emotions of the combatants. And that goes for the rest of the film - the various ways in which the characters do battle are representative of their motivations and attitudes. Agamemnon pushes his troops to take everything at once; Hector balances offense and defense; Odysseus plots his strategy carefully; and Achilles' attacks are quick, clean, and deadly.
It's hard to label a movie a masterpiece a day after it's been released, having only seen it once, but I wouldn't call that a stretch here. Never has this epic story been brought to life so vividly, with such strong characterization. The events spring from character, like any great plot (and even more so here than in Homer), and the eventual fate of almost every character is completely fitting with that individual's outlook on the world. Objectively, I had no qualms with the film at all; it's almost a perfectly realized version of The Iliad. Subjectively I differed with a few of the twists on the novel, but then I'm vehemently anti-Trojan, and I always have been. Most people familiar with The Iliad won't have any problems with the alterations, unless they are uber-purists. Unlike another recent film based upon an epic work, the changes here do not affect the spirit of the story at all.
Troy is a terrific film, one that demands to be experienced on a large screen. It is magnificent from beginning to end, and even though it clocks in at a little over two and a half hours, it just flies by. This movie could have been four hours and I wouldn't have minded. The only downside I can see to Troy is that now the bar has been raised very high for every film coming out the rest of the year. Certainly the other blockbusters this summer now have a lot to live up to. But I would certainly urge anyone with even the slightest interest to catch this one on the big screen, so it can really be appreciated.