Not Just The Horse That Is Wooden...

Rating: Null/10 (5 February 2007)

It is hard to know where to begin when reviewing this movie.
-The historical and literary accuracy is way off, which is defended by saying the story is only based on the Iliad. I should say that I learnt the classics at school and read the original Greek and English translations so perhaps I viewed the film with certain preconceptions. I did expect some changes, but not this many.
-I can understand the removal of the gods themselves from the film, this is forgivable to increase realism. However removing the beliefs of the characters is not since it plays a significant role in their actions.
-Some of the acting is atrocious, with Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom among the worst offenders. Both have yet to convince me of both their acting and action credentials. The amount of cuts in the editing of their fights shows that neither can really fight believably. The script is often weak and doesn't help, but there is no genuine excuse. Brad Pitt plays Achilles as a spoilt child and I found myself wishing his character would just die instead of lasting longer than he does in the Iliad. Worst acting accolade of the film is easily won by Garrett Hedlund as Patroclus who is supposed to be a promising warrior yet acts like a whiny 5 year old who is not allowed to go to the park. In the cinema where I watched it everybody burst out laughing at his every word, which I don't think was the intention.
-Eric Bana is really the main star as he portrays the difficult role of Hector effectively and with dignity. Diane Kruger also manages to rise above being simply eye candy and is surprisingly good considering the character was only in the film due the insistence of the producers.

Apart from that the better actors are virtually all sidelined, Peter O'Toole, Brian Cox, Sean Bean, John Shrapnel, Julie Christie, Julian Glover - the list goes on. This is unforgivable considering the amount of time focused on Brad Pitt's body in the film - presumably to distract from his wooden acting. They definitely bring a sense of gravitas to "Troy" which it lacks in abundance otherwise. In particular Peter O'Toole acts his co-stars off the screen and steals every scene he is in.

I found it very difficult to sympathise with many of the most of the main characters since they all seemed incredibly egocentric in their actions. There was a good deal of criticism of Zhang Yimou's "Hero" (2002)over seemingly promoting communist values and teaching that the state is much more important than any individual. Well this is comparatively tame in relation to Troy, where after a brief debate it appears to quickly support wholeheartedly the idea that just because Paris and Helen are in love with each other that easily justifies the destruction of a whole city and all its inhabitants. It didn't work for me especially since Paris and runaway Helen didn't seem any more worthy than the supposed villains and boredom is hardly a convincing argument for genocide. I have to admit that this is part of the original story, but this can be explained by the gods using the characters as pawns and the effects of ten years of campaigning - both elements are missing from the film adaption.

-The battle scenes are okay but are far from the saving grace they are made out to be and sometimes just descend into unconvincing CGI with very little logic. At one point the Greeks charge at some Trojans outside the 200ft stone walls despite having no siege equipment and the walls being thick with archers. Hmmm... I have heard of stupidity from generals but this is unrealistic in the extreme. The Greeks do not even surround the city or raid nearby settlements to cut off supplies so they hardly even seem a credible threat to the Trojans. The siege battles are nowhere near as good as the ones in the Two Towers, Return of the King or even Kingdom of Heaven put it that way.
-The soundtrack was adequate even if it was in a different league from the likely benchmark - Gladiator. At least it made the attempt to be different instead of the obvious carbon copy that could have been done.
It was always going to be difficult to film such an epic story in a single film and in some respects Wolfgang Peterson manages to do this with some success as the major facets of the tale are covered even if sometimes inaccurately. The focus on Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom to appeal to the female audience who might otherwise not go and see a 'swords and sandals epic' removes much of the credibility and it is only the other portrayals that save the film from being a total loss. Being a heterosexual male I had no interest in drooling over either nude/partly clad and I felt the whole time I was not among the target audience. A wasted opportunity.