Better than expected. Much better.

Rating: 9/10 (7 August 2005)

You'd think this film was another Ishtar if you'd paid attention to some of the critics when it came out. Troy is a modern-day epic loosely based on the poem of Homer written centuries ago. We see what happens when young prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) seduces and steals away with another king's wife and takes her back to the heavily fortified city of record. All the kingdoms of Greece align and attack the city with everything they've got. The result is one hell of an entertaining film.
I am not well versed in ancient Greek history or mythology. Apparently this film differs greatly from Homer's poem, but since I am only vaguely familiar with the story, that was not a problem for me. Much of the mythology surrounding the story was dropped to make it look like a historically plausible picture. We are left with a story about warlords who pray to Greek gods, but are very much mortal.
The film has large cast made up of great actors (O'Toole, Cox, Bean) and people who are just nice to look at (Pitt, Bloom, Kruger). The script has some cheesy lines, but most of the actors give as much dignity as they can to them. Apparently this film was a very negative experience for O'Toole who was reportedly so unhappy with director Wofgang Petersen, that he refused to see the final product. That's unfortunate, since O'Toole gives the film's best performance. Brad Pitt plays a brooding and vengeful Achillies. His acting skills aren't quite right for this part, but any women in the audience are sure to be impressed by his physique. It took him nearly six months to attain those muscles, and the results are impressive for any man his age.
The battle scenes are brutal and exciting. There are some characters in this film that can whip some butt. Eric Bana and Brad Pitt have a fun, but too brief one on one match at one point. The large-scale archery effect is getting a little old. We've already seen it in Braveheart, Gladiator, and the Lord of the Rings movies, so the spectacle isn't as awesome this time. Most of the effects are computer generated, but look good enough.
The film is a little long, but it won't cause you to daydream. The film had ridiculously high budget ($185,000,000), and it failed to make that money back in theaters. DVD sales and rentals over the years may yet make it a profitable venture. Heck, even Waterworld has about broken even after all these years of being on the market for home ownership.
If you're looking for an exciting story with tremendous production values, then Troy is right for you. I consider it to be a superior film to Gladiator, and that one snuck away with an Oscar.
9 of 10 stars. The Hound has spoken.