Stretched epic with some awe cinematography

Rating: 9/10 (20 June 2020)

Loosely based on Homer's 'Iliad', Wolfgang Petersen directs this epic war film, with an ensemble cast including Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean, Brian Cox, Rose Byrne, Garrett Hedlund, Peter O' Toole, Brendan Gleeson, & Tyler Mane. Set in 1193 B.C., this movie tells the story of a war between the two cities of Troy and Sparta, and the story of one of the bravest warriors to roam ancient Greece named Achilles. King Agamemnon (Brian Cox) is ruler of Mycenea, but wishes to rule an empire, so his army slowly conquers the rest of what is now Greece. The only threat to his empire is a neighbouring country called Troy. Agamemnon's brother Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) is tired of war, so he negotiate's peace with the Trojan princes Hector (Eric Bana) and Paris (Orlando Bloom). Upon leaving, Paris reveals to Hector that he has taken Menelaus's wife, Helen (Diane Kruger) with him, as he loves her. Menelaus goes to Agamemnom to start a war, and Agamemnom manages to convince legendary warrior Achilles (Brad Pitt) to fight among the Greek army. Hector and Paris arrive in Troy, and tell their father Priam (Peter O'Toole) of the upcoming war. Agamemnom arrives on the beaches of Troy with 1,000 ships, but after day 1, Achilles refuses to fight, and instead cares to Trojan prisoner Briseis (Rose Byrne). Over the next two battles Hector kills Menelaus, Ajax (who is the Greek's best warrior after Achilles), and Achilles's cousin, Patroclus, and finally Achilles decides to don his armour and face Hector in a duel to the death.
Brad Pitt delivers one of the best performances of his career as Achilles, giving the right amount of power and strength. I couldn't care less about Pitt until seeing this movie as he does an outstanding job portraying Greece's greatest warrior. No, he's not the bulkiest warrior to ever grace the earth, but he's fast as lightning, confident, expertly skilled and deadly accurate. Even his voice completely fits the role. I have been a longtime critic of Brad Pitt as a second tier talent who became famous only because of his looks, but in this film he surprised me. He is the true star of the film. Achilles is easily the most interesting and entertaining character. I applaud Brad Pitt's effort in making his character a tragic hero. Achilles acknowledges that he is not the son of a goddess and is not immortal or invulnerable. The movie basically shows us how a rumor can blossom into a legend unto itself. Achilles' legend becomes immortal. He even refers to this in my favorite scene when he is inspiring his men and starts the invasion heavily outnumbered and still triumphs. Later in the same scene he scoffs at the so called gods the Greeks and Trojans worship by decapitating the statue. I found this scene symbolic of the movie itself. The gods are nothing to both the characters and audience
Eric Bana is also terrific as Prince Hector, trying to negotiate peace between Troy and Sparta. Besides the supporting cast, Peter O' Toole is just perfect playing the king of Troy.As for beautiful women, there are only a couple mention able: Diane Kruger plays Helen, "the face that launched a thousand ships." Some have complained that she's too plain for the role, but I disagree. I'm not a fan of hers or anything, but she looks pretty dang sharp to me (not to mention has an impressive behind shot). Besides, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. If Paris deems her worthy of starting a war, who are we to disagree? Also on hand is cutie Rose Byrne who plays Briseis, the virgin priestess whom Achilles converts to the pleasures of the flesh.
This movie contains some of the most elaborate action sequences that I've ever seen on film. The costumes and the art direction all stay true to the ancient Greece setting, and they all create a realistic feel to the movie. This movie is perfectly well-made, from the distinguished art, to the intense battle sequences.
Wolfgang Petersen's film benefited from the effect "Gladiator" and offered the possibility of expanding commercial horizons towards a movie that achieved a big commercial success . The hand of the director carries out an interesting story as well as thrilling and unsweetened , reasoning the causes and motivations of their roles , taking their time and giving large doses of artistic genius . If you are accustomed to battles as Braveheart or Gladiator, you will enjoy with "Troy" , a great epic that shows the limits of the legend , which allowed Petersen to take some particular elements based on the "Illiad" of Homer . The battles are breathtaking, thousands of people took part though mostly were staged by means of computer generator . The tale is pretty violent , the struggles are very bloody and savage , in fact , Brad Pitt and Eric Bana did not use stunt doubles for their epic duel . The main cast is formed by big names who give acceptable acting .
The script was written with a mind to keep the important details of the original story intact but to make it as realistic as possible. The gods are there but only in spirit. They don't get directly involved in the action like the original. I think this is a good thing as well. Troy looks like historical recreation rather than a literal translation of the poem. In one scene I thought there was an unlikely event and researched only to find it actually is in the Iliad. When the writer was asking for too much, he was in fact being true to the text. My bad.
I haven't seen that much gladiator movies in my time, but I can safely say that "Troy" is one of the most remarkable and action-packed motion pictures that audiences will never forget. "Troy", in my review, "action-packed, beautifully well-made".