3 out of 5

Rating: Null/10 (15 May 2004)

I had great expectations about this movie. With its great director, great cast and of course its story material The Iliad, I was excited and expected it to be spectacular. I liked it, but "spectacular" it wasn't. I won't judge Troy by its lack of loyalty to The Iliad. The fact that they've changed many aspects of the story and even some critical turning points of it is very unfortunate. However, I understand that this is a movie and it was the filmmakers' conscious decision to do so. I'm going to consider Troy a movie on its own for this review. First of all, even though this is an epic film with concepts such as love, honor and courage at its center, something feels missing. It seems to be a little rushed for some reason. But also it is obvious the filmmakers', the whole cast and the crew have put a lot of work in it, and there sure are times it shows.
The cast is considerably strong. Although Orlando Bloom as Paris and Diane Kruger as Helen have failed to impress me miserably, the cast is balanced with great performances by Peter O'Toole, Eric Bana, Brian Cox and the always wonderful Sean Bean. Not forgetting Brad Pitt of course in the lead role of Achilles who, in my opinion, is a very good actor and although has been a lot better than here in Troy, he does a fair job as well. Also kudos to Rose Byrne as Briseis who holds her own against Brad Pitt. Unfortunately, for me, Troy had many low points as well. I thought the editing wasn't very good and the movie definitely had big problems with the original score. The significance of an original score is most certainly crucial to any film, especially big, epic ones like Troy and unfortunately here, it is not inspired, it is weak and without impact. The fight scenes don't awe us or even surprise us, it feels like we've seen all of it in some form or another before.
However, this movie does have its moments and at its strongest in some of its quieter scenes. And at the end of the day, it still is an intriguing story about honor, courage, respect and love. I recommend Troy to anyone who holds these themes valuable and but not necessarily demanding to see a masterpiece. It's worth the admission and a fine way to spend an afternoon.