Simply told: Very Good, but Not Great!

Rating: Null/10 (4 June 2004)

Well, being Greek American, I was looking forward to this movie for the past two years. After all is said and done, it has met my expectations in some regards while falling short in others.
Starting with the good---- I honestly have to say that Eric Bana, Peter O' Toole and Sean Bean gave INCREDIBLE performances. They were the 3 most believable characters in the entire film. If there is ever a follow up, i.e. The Odyssey, I am confident that Bean can carry the load. Also, I think that Brad Pitt should get more credit than he has been getting. Sure- he had his corny lines and bad accent. However, at the end of the day, when I left the film I honestly felt like he fit the "bad ass" mold perfectly. He was a refined killing machine with no conscience except when it came to Briseis. His fighting scenes were remarkable and he portrayed the demigod Achilles to physical perfection. *The individual fight scenes between Hektor/Ajax and Achilles/Hektor were memorable. The scene between Pitt and Bana is one of the best of all-time. *Priam begging Achilles for Hektor's boday was highly emotional. A classic scene which resonates down to our current day.
Now, for the bad----- 1) The music was horrible. Expecting something similar to Horner's masterpiece in Braveheart, I was utterly disappointed. When I think of both Braveheart and Gladiator, certain songs stick in my head from each film. Troy only had a few good musical scenes. I think that dramatic music would've added greatly to the emotional feel of the movie. At times, I also felt that it was too GRAND. (trumpets, horns..I felt like I was at Anglo-Saxon banquet) 2) The script: A large portion of it was good..however, some lines were way too clichÃ© and melodramatic. (Like when Helen said "Don't Play with me, don't Play." and when Paris told Bana "You're the best man I've ever known." I mean, I think that a sorrowful and silent pause in that circumstance would've been much more moving. I simply felt that some of the stuff they were saying was typical of what we always hear in epics. (Not enough imagination) 3) The lack of emotion: Although it had its emotional highs, I expected to leave Troy in awe and full of goose bumps- Neither happened. I left feeling good- but I did not feel like I did after I saw Braveheart. The death of Achilles was intense, but NOT GRIPPING.
** 3 out of 5 Stars**