Very good

Rating: 9/10 (5 October 2004)

** HERE BE SPOILERS **
Paris (Bloom), prince of Troy, and Helen (Kruger) queen of Sparta, falls in love and after some successful peace negotiations between Sparta and Troy, Helen comes with Paris back to Troy. Menelaus (Gleeson) is furious. Menelaus goes to his brother, king of the kings Agamemnon (Cox), and demands that entire Greece goes to war with Troy. Agamemnon, who himself long has wanted to annex Troy into his Greece is glad to oblige. So, the greatest army ever seen, including the great warrior Achilles (Pitt) and his friend and king Odysseus (Bean), sets sail across the Egeian Sea. However, Achilles and Agamemnon does not get along and the army of Troy, lead by it greatest warrior, prince Hector is triumphant, for a start.
This is a legendary and classic story put into a movie. So there is bound to be some parts that has to be cut or changed to fit into to the movie format. However, I think they have succeeded very well. The story is coherent, although there are few surprises due to that the general story is well known. The effects and detail are very good. A few scenes breathtakingly beautiful. I have the scene with the armada in mind for example. There are good fights, both man versus man and army versus army. There is love, shame and honor. There is death. The characters are beautiful and the cast is made up of famous actors and actresses. The dialog is not all that bad, even if it sometimes become a little too focused in producing dramatic one-liners. As I see it there are only one flaw, and it is not really anyones fault. Nearing the end, Paris pick up the bow instead of sword in the fighting. This, unfortunately brings Legolas into mind, and it feels kind of out of place. Anyhow, all in all a great epic adventure!
9/10