Weak Lead Role but Strong Support

Rating: 7/10 (1 April 2013)

I have a sweet tooth for Greek Mythology and medieval war films. Troy had all the pieces to become a huge success. Wolfgang Peterson brought together a very talented cast to deliver the Trojan War to the big screen. Brad Pitt is the star who plays Achilles and given the role, it was good enough. Eric Bana gives the best performance of his career as the Trojan Prince Hector. Brian Cox plays the same villain once again as King Agamemnon. Sean Bean is a must for this kind of movie as he plays Odysseus. Then there is the wildcard in Orlando Bloom playing Paris. I love these actors, I love the idea, I love history behind the movie, but did it live up to my expectations?
Achilles was played really well by Brad Pitt, but I didn't like it. I know, how does that make sense? Achilles is an arrogant demigod who can't be killed in battle. His character is very one sided and I think Pitt played him correctly and got the character correct, but I didn't like the character Achilles. He is the main character and so important, but I can't stand him. I enjoyed the movie more when he wasn't on screen. Good acting by Brad Pitt, not his best, but given the character and the role itself it was good enough. He has a girl he falls in love with but it doesn't work as well as it should. It sort of shows characterization and growth as a character but it almost makes me hate the character even more.
Even though the main character was boring, bland, and hard to relate to the rest of the cast blew me away, mainly Hector and Agamemnon. Troy is so confident that they can fight off Achilles and the rest of Greece. Hector sees the world for how it is and he realizes that they are in trouble. He knows this war cannot be won and when his brother Paris takes the Queen of Sparta away, he wants to bring her back because he knows it will bring war. Helen of Sparta is the most beautiful women in all the world and Paris stole her from Sparta. Hector protects his brother even though he knows it will bring his doom. It really is noble of him because it shows the strength and weakness in his character. Throughout the movie we see all of his strengths and weaknesses. His greatest strength and weakness is the love of his country. We feel sympathetic for his character as we see him struggle with everything that is going on. Brian Cox plays the exact same character in all of his movies but it works so well. Agamemnon is the greedy brother of Menelaus, King of Sparta. He wants to destroy Troy and burn it to the ground. Brian Cox was casted perfectly for this role. He plays the villain so well and how he treats the world like a candy bar waiting to be stolen and he thinks he can do it so easily. His relationship between him and Achilles drives the movie forward, but the relationship was kind of one sided because Achilles shows little to no emotion and is boring. Agamemnon pushes the rivalry and emphasizes the importance of Achilles. Then there is his relationship between him and Priam, king of Troy. He and Priam are rivals and we see the difference in how they lead. Priam believes in the Gods while Agamemnon depends on an army. Both are their strengths and weaknesses. A major aspect of the story is how characters strengths are also their weaknesses, I just realized that.
Troy is based off of Homers, The Iliad and lets just say I personally like Wolfgang Peterson's version better. In the epic poem the gods were more involved and the Trojan War is more of a game for them. The Greek Gods could have had more involvement but the focus on the movie was more on the characters and humans themselves. Certain characters die in the movie a lot better than the way they die in the poem. Ajax is the prime example. Ajax is one of my favorite characters in Greek Mythology and Homer did not give him justice. The warrior went down the way he should have, in battle, not him committing suicide over a dead pig, pr something like that. Peterson does stay true to the original story with some details that a true fan could enjoy but the two are mostly very different.
Overall, I did enjoy Troy. The battle scenes were very entertaining, most characters fit well and were acted out appropriately, but I can't get over how much I hate Achilles. He literally almost ruined the movie for me. He mopes around and complains and acts like he is the greatest thing in the world. Even if he is and he is supposed to act like that, I hate him. I guess Peterson did his job in making me hate him. Another thing I enjoyed was that I bought the Directors Cut in Blu Ray. I always say, there is no such thing as too long of a movie and in the Directors Cut there are scenes that deserved to be cut out, but I loved seeing them. I liked seeing more interactions between characters and more development of characters, except for Achilles, and the extra battle scenes were disturbing but brilliant. James Horner does another fantastic job with the score. Nothing is more epic than hearing the magic of music in this movie. Music makes the movie, I say it all the time and once again, the music was amazing in this film. With the poor quality of the main character, a few plot holes, and a few nitpicks I have given Troy the WillyT Honorable Mention because I hate Achilles too much and the acting was weak at points, but still a great movie.