Gladiator Meets Lord of the Rings

Rating: 7/10 (26 May 2009)

Gladiator and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy have both got a lot to answer for. Because of the success of those two movies studios rediscovered the money making power swords and sandals and fantasy epics. In the space of a few short years we saw the release of Alexander, King Arthur, Kingdom of Heaven, 300, Eragon and The Last Legion with new films about Robin Hood and the Hobbit in development. Troy itself is one of the most expensive films ever made, with a budget of $180 Million, which was a massive amount, even in 2004. It was a massive risk for Warners Brothers.
Troy is loosely based on the famous epic poem, The Iliad by Homer (not the Simpsons' character), and the history of the time, but it's hardly debatable on whether Troy ever existed. It focuses on the conflict between the city state of Troy and a loose alliance of Greek states led by King Agamemnon (Brian Cox). This war was stated when the Troyan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) falls in love with Helen (Diane Kruger), wife of King Menelaus' (Brendan Gleeson) of Spata. But this also gives Agamemnon an excuse to attack Troy and conquer the city. In the middle of this was conflict is the Greek hero Achilles (Brad Pitt). He is an insubordinate soldier and dislikes Agamemnon; but he longs for glory, women and to be remembered in history. He is convicted to first in the war by King Odysseus (Sean Bean), especially when he tries to recruit Patroclus (Garrett Hedlund), Achilles' cousin (lover in the poem). Troy is lead by King Priam (Peter O'Toole), a kind ruler to his people but not willing to back down from the fight, and Prince Hector (Eric Bana), a skilled fighter and commander. They seek to defence Troy the best they can, but Priam and his advisers were too reliance for help from the Gods. Hector is more realist in his opinions. As well as Achilles' rivalry with Agamemnon, he develops a rivalry with Hector. Both are their side's both fighters. Achilles ends up hating Hector after Hector kills Patroclus in battle.
Troy takes a more realistic view on the Trojan War. The writer, David Benioff, and director, Wolfgang Petersen, do not show the Greek Gods involved in the war. This seems to be a good move and tries to show how ancient wars would have been fought. This is strongest element of Troy, showing the director styles of conflict, the epic battles and the one of one fights with a vary of weapons. The film is violence, showing that conflict was bloody, and it had a 15 rating in the UK. Unfortunately there was no served limps like in 300 or Kill Bill which is a shame.
Wolfgang Petersen seems like a safe pair of hands, directing the famous classic of German cinema Das Boot, to Hollywood action films like Air Force One and In the Line of Fire. He handles the action really well in this film. He also assembles one hell of a cast, Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Brain Cox, Sean Bean, Peter O'Toole, Brendan Gleeson and Rose Byrne. But the cast is hit and miss. Brain Cox is the strongest performance as the villain of the film. Sean Bean is good and it good to see he is more then the traditional evil English bloke. Rose Byrne, Peter O'Toole and Eric Bana were also pretty. Brad Pitt, an actor I normally like, offered his weakest performance in this film. I didn't really believe in his character. Achilles is a very unlikable and unengaging character in the film. Also Orlando Bloom, shows once again that except for Lord of the Rings, that he can't act. He was just a pretty boy and is type-casted to be in fantasy, epics and a combo of the two. Garrett Hedlund was also a really poor actor. The film also ended as an action cliché.
A element I like in the film is that it shows a mixed picture. Only Agamemnon was a real villain of the film, and the rest of the characters had their reasons for fighting. The Trojans are more sympathetic, but the Greeks are not hateful or stupid like the English in Braveheart. Even Agamemnon had strategic reasons behind why he invaded Troy.
I have never read the Iliad, but it's ready on my bookshelf. But an element of the film I did not like was the war only lasted for a few weeks, where in the poem it was a 10-year conflict. The film also had too many characters and it was easy for some of them to disappear off the screen. One of my history leaturers at university also dislike the fact that Achilles was not gay, simily because Brad Pitt did not want to play the character as gay or bisexual.
Troy is enjoyable enough, but not a classic. 3 out of 5.