Gigantic epic! But, with the ability to entertain all kind of audiences for a change.

Rating: 5/10 (24 May 2004)

Usually, I'm really skeptical and negative-minded about these massively hyped and overbudgetted historical epics. I have a lot more sympathy for modest and truthful portraits as they focus more on the actual events instead of the computerized decoration. Productions like these don't come much bigger than `Troy', but still it's a good movie with an enormous entertainment value and lots of professionalism. As far as the history-lessons I attended in school are fresh in my mind, Troy is rather loyal to the original poem and only a few changes and additions have been made in order to make the film more attractive to the audience. Orlando Bloom's character Paris is portrayed a lot less cowardly than he actually was and the whole love affair between him and Helen is wrongfully glorified. Other than these slick twists, the film gives a pretty good image to those who aren't familiar with the legendary tale. Letting Wolfgang Petersen direct this epic was a good choice. Petersen is very gifted director with extremely professional visions and the required skills shoot an appealing blockbuster. Brilliant cast as well, with some prominent names like Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson and Peter O'Toole. Brad Pitt is a lot less miscast as I initially feared and Eric Bana continues his triumph career. I haven't got an opinion on Orlando Bloom yet. I'll patiently await his first non-blockbuster role before judging his acting skills. The settings and scenery are amazingly impressive, the numerous battles are more than exciting and the bloodshed is fairly reasonable. All together, Troy isn't the type of film I'll immediately buy on DVD when it comes out, but at least it doesn't leave you behind unsatisfied and mixed feelings.