A Fun Way to Kick Off the Summer -- SOME SPOILERS!

Rating: 10/10 (26 May 2004)

When I first saw the trailer, I was skeptical at best. All I knew was that it was based on Homer's The Illiad, and that the trailer gave the impression that it was going to take a butcher knife to that beautiful epic, leaving it deformed and a far cry from its former self. As time went on, there were posters and trailers for this movie everywhere I went, seeing as it was going to be THE movie to kick off the summer blockbuster season. I relented and did a little research on it.
It came to my attention that the team behind Troy was openly saying that this wasn't going to be a film version of The Illiad, and was in fact going to be "inspired" by the epic, in addition to drawing on other sources for plot. It was a roundabout way of saying that it was going to take the characters and Hollywood-ize the storyline to make Troy. I gave them snaps for saying that, and was more open to the idea of seeing it. I ended up seeing it opening weekend.
I liked it.
The film is centered around Helen fleeing to Troy to be with her love, Paris (a prince of Troy). Her husband Menelaus, King of Sparta then decides to wage war against Troy. He calls upon his brother, Agammemnon, commander of all the armies of Greece, to stand beside him in this war. Seeing this as an opportunity to expand his power, in addition to defending his brother's honor, he agrees. Much bloodshed and crying ensues. Throw in a subplot with Achilles, whose disdain for Agammemnon's power-lust and lack of honor, and an honorable Hector trying to do the right thing, and you have the makings of Troy.
A key choice that was made in this film was not to include the gods as characters, and to make everyone 100% mortal. I think it was a wise choice for two reasons. First, there are enough characters in the story already. There is no way you could have introduced anyone else and have it add anything to the story. Secondly, I think by humanizing the story it made it more accessible. One line in the movie (said by Achilles) says something along the lines of the gods envy mortals, because we are mortal. Everything we do is all the more beautiful "because we are doomed". Indirectly, it is very true for this story. The lack of the divine in this movie makes the movie more emotional and beautiful.
The casting (albeit containing a few flaws) was rather impressive. Peter O'Toole, onboard as Priam, lent a weight to the film that reminded of you in some scenes of the old classics like Cleopatra and Spartacus. Eric Bana (Hector, Prince of Troy) was definitely the shocker of the film for me. I was very impressed with his performance, and I thought he was a definite standout. Orlando Bloom was not bad in any sense, but not fantastic. He might have been more of a victim of the cheeseball writing, because he did have quite a few moments. He seems like an actor who has the potential to really go somewhere and "bloom", as it were. Diane Kruger (Helen) didn't really bother me. She wasn't particularly impressive. While she was "the face that launched a thousand ships" this was a movie focusing on the males.
The women weren't completely in the background, but they were most definitely not in the foreground either, so it didn't really bother me that she struck me as rather vapid at times. I will get to Brad Pitt in a moment.
The movie definitely lived up to the blockbuster standard of sweeping cinematography, lavish sets, ridiculously intricate costumes and the like. No complaints there.
Here are my few gripes with the movie. First, I think Brad Pitt was miscast. He definitely looks like an Achilles. For some reason, he just didn't.. fit. It wasn't a lack of talent, considering he's been in a number of movies where he really does shine. It seemed like every time he opened his mouth, I cringed. It didn't work. It could have been the writing, but not totally. It was an ensemble piece and he was out of place. In the end he was "Brad Pitt as Achilles", he was not Achilles, whereas everyone else WAS their character through and through. There was no way I could suspend my disbelief to accept him as just Achilles.
I have touched on this a few times already, but the writing in some places was extremely.. lacking. I found myself rolling my eyes and chuckling at a couple points throughout the movie, when comedy was not the desired effect. The writers tried to make the characters a lot more "grand" and well-spoken.
I understand it's an epic, dealing with legends that have spanned the ages, but they were trying to make a human story, and normal people do not spew forth poetry every time they open their mouths.
Lastly, the character development was lacking in places, but unless the movie was ten hours long, there is no way they could have done each character justice.
Would I recommend this movie? Yes, I would. I thought it was a great way to kick off the summer. It had its downfalls, but whatever. If you look at the movie for what they wanted it to be--a larger than life Hollywood epic blockbuster--it was wonderful. It was fun. It was action-packed. It had a dash of romance, a teaspoon of betrayal, and pinch of everything else. It isn't a Ben Hur, or a Spartacus, or a Gladiator, but it isn't trying to be. If you go into the movie understanding that, you will enjoy it.
3 1/2 STARS out of a possible FIVE STARS.