maltreated - a great movie

Rating: 9/10 (22 June 2004)

Bad movies come out in droves these days. The majority of critics must be on autopilot, bombing new releases left and right, because they missed this perfectly good movie and gave it the same shoddy treatment as the typical brainless blockbuster. But anybody with sense can see that "Troy" is clearly a cut (or ten) above the average summer fare. Beautiful sets, thrilling battles (particularly the one-on-one clashes), and a terrific ensemble cast elevate this film to the status of epic greatness. I wonder if it will be reassessed with kinder eyes in the future, when we're not all so cynical and burnt out from watching too many CGI spectacles.
Common criticisms of this movie just don't hold up. Orlando Bloom makes a fey Paris, yes, but that's the nature of the character. Perhaps his love scenes don't give off enough heat, but they're merely a preamble to the real focus - the war itself. Brad Pitt is better than you've heard as Achilles; once again, the controversial aspect of his performance (he's sulky) is true to the original character. Of course, the real show-stealer is Eric Bana's Hector; after his lackluster and low-key performance as the Hulk, I didn't think much of him, but here Bana infuses Troy's greatest warrior with wisdom, power, and passion. If junk like "Lord of the Rings" nets Oscars, then Bana should definitely be up for Best Supporting Actor, but I doubt that'll happen.
True, the movie is not particularly faithful to the original myths in many important respects. But it doesn't pretend to be anything but a modern re-interpretation; the title isn't "Homer's Iliad," after all. It's pretty ridiculous that critics slam the movie for not sticking closely enough to a poetic work that is obviously an exaggerated and embellished account of the war. By eliminating the gods (their actual presence, not their influence), "Troy" makes the Trojan War seem more real than it was in "The Iliad," and that's not a bad thing. It was a real war, after all (probably). And I'll bet the gods didn't show up in reality, either...
Perhaps "Troy" has too much moral grey area for modern audiences, who have grown accustomed to black-and-white, good-vs-evil conflicts from both the movies (Star Wars, LOTR) and the political rhetoric of the day. But I love the ambiguity in this movie, and every time a character dies - whether he's Greek or Trojan - I feel bad. I never know which side is really right, which side I want to win. That's because the story has genuine complexity; nice to know that Hollywood is still capable of generating something with more than a surface layer of gloss.
"Troy" is also exceedingly manly, which could be alienating, as it celebrates not only combat and good muscle tone but such outdated concepts as honor, duty, and courage. Watching this, I couldn't help but think we're all complete wimps these days, in terms of our fallen virtues as well as our flabby bodies. But I'm drifting into weird territory now. Suffice to say that "Troy" is a beautiful and underrated story of honor, love, and cool battles between cool characters. Try to catch it in the theaters while you still can; epics always look their best on the big screen.