The Good & Bad Of 'Troy'

Rating: 5/10 (25 February 2007)

GOOD - They didn't just spend this vast amount of money - over $200 million to make this film - on computer special effects. They did that, yes, but also did have a bunch of "extras" and those panoramic shots of the warriors, real or not, looked impressive. So did the shots of the vast number of ships, the fleet of Greek invaders to the shores of Troy. Along with that, we get a nice re-creation of the period, that of very ancient times. Eric Bana's role of "Hector" was a noble one. The famous "Helen of Troy" certainly was an eyeful, played by Diane Kruger.
THE BAD - We are supposed to root for Troy, at least that's the way it was presented. I have a couple of questions, however. How is it we are supposed to root for a guy who steals another man's wife? That's what the scriptwriters here are trying to get us to do. I don't care how despicable Helen's husband is, it's still the wrong thing! Hello? Talk about another example of Hollywood's twisted morals. Also, are we to root for Brad Pitt's "Achilles" character? If this guy were alive today, his American hero would probably be Barry Bonds, someone en route to immortal fame by cheating - but who cares? At least someone in this film does tell "Achilles" how vain and shallow he is, but Pitt just turned me - and a lot of other viewers - off with this role.
OVERALL - Not a bad film, but for the money, I guess I expected something better, more involving. If I am going to sit through a film this long, I'd like to care more about the lead characters than I did here. "Hector" was the only one worth a damn.