Brad Pitt's Achilles' Heel

Rating: 7/10 (30 March 2009)

"Brad Pitt picks up a sword and brings a muscular, brooding presence to the role of Greek warrior Achilles in this spectacular retelling of 'The Iliad'. Orlando Bloom and Diane Kruger play the legendary lovers who plunge the world into war, Eric Bana portrays the prince who dares to confront Achilles, and Peter O'Toole rules Troy as King Priam. Director Wolfgang Petersen recreates a long-ago world of mighty warships, clashing armies, the massive fortress city, and the towering Trojan Horse."
Director Peterson does a good job keeping this long, big-budgeted epic rolling; especially, he is good with the chest-piercing battle scenes. The film's thesis; a more plausible, historically, version of the mythological "Iliad", is a good one - if only the ancient Library of Alexandria in Egypt hadn't burned, we'd know so much more about the era Although the film is beautifully produced, the computer generated "look" is, at times, distracting; don't look too carefully, for example, at those mighty warships.
During the picture, Brad Pitt was experiencing a second wave of mega-box office popularity; and, while his on screen presence undoubtedly thrilled millions, he is not entirely successful in the "Achilles" role. The camera treats Mr. Pitt as a drugstore paperback novel cover boy - with biceps and blond mane prominently displayed. He is obviously trying to essay the role, but Pitt most often looks to be simply posed. Consequently, the usually ultra-sexy Pitt appears almost sexless. Rose Byrne's "Briseis" helps, though
The more sexy story involves Orlando Bloom's "Paris" irritating big brother Eric Bana's "Hector" by taking Diane Kruger's "Helen" as his lover. Of the four "hot" young leads (if you count Pitt, Bloom, Kruger, and Bana), Mr. Bana comes off the best, with Ms. Kruger edging out Mr. Bloom as the prettiest. Peter O'Toole and a strong supporting cast look as good, if not better, than the stars. Worth checking out, for the spectacle (great art direction/set direction & costume design) - and for Eric Bana's acting one-upmanship.
******* Troy (2004) Wolfgang Petersen ~ Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana