See it for Achilles

Rating: 9/10 (23 May 2004)

I love historical epics even when they aren't historically correct, because history is narrative anyway. But thats a whole other topic....back to Troy. This movie was played up to be big, and to be honest, it could have been better.
Firstly casting. I think Orlando Bloom was wrong in this part and his character was annoying. Helen of Sparta, supposed to be the most beautiful women ever, was really quite plain. I was expecting breath taking but she was really nothing special. Eric Bana as Hector was uncomfortable in some parts and was clearly outshone by Brad Pitt.
Brad Pitt was perfect in the role and I don't understand all the fuss on the IMDb boards about him being miscast, not only was he visually stunning (I have to mention how extremely buff he is, certainly worked hard to get that warrior body) but made Achilles the definite star, a complex and much less shallow character than he could have been. Dominating and imposing in every scene he featured in, Achilles made this movie.
In the hands of Wolfgang Peterson this movie became simply a Hollywood blockbuster, whereas it could have been a more memorable accomplishment in more skilled hands. The fact is, it was okay, but not as brilliant or moving as other similar movies (eg Braveheart or Gladiator). Too much emphasis was put on special effects, the fighting armies looked like they came straight out of Age of Empires (sidebar: i love that game)and the Greek fleet was ridiculous.
Real armies are possible and god I wish directors would fork out the extra money to have real people in real scenes, I loved Emperor and the Asassin because all those extras were real, it can be done. This movie cost 200 million to make and i think the money could have been better spent, less on famous actors and more on details. Look at Lord of the Rings and what they did with their huge budget. I love attention to detail and the quality of a movie is in the details.
But hey don't get me wrong i loved the movie. Little bits of humour were tasteful and light, the acting was overall pretty good, but what was the best was the love story between Achilles and Briseis. It softened his character and added some honour to his vicious nature, as well as being ten times more interesting and believable than Paris and Helen. Perhaps its because I'm a romantic at heart, but still I'd recommend this movie to anyone who is a history fan, because it wasn't that bad.