Troy (2004)

Troy is an excellent movie. For any war/history buff there is enough here to feed upon to overlook any flaws.

First, in response to all the Gladiator lovers who said on the boards that there is no one to cheer for in Troy, I say they are idiots. Gladiator was about a single protagonist. Homer's Iliad was always a complicated, ensemble story. The audience has to deal with a lot of main characters and THIS IS A GOOD THING. Its the Iliad, not Batman.

There was a complaint about the film not having a good side to relate to. This one irritates me. Real life seldom has the simplistic good guy vs. bad guy dichotomy. This in my mind makes Troy that much more believable. When events unfold I actually believed they could happen. Japanese cinema is so good at times precisely because we don't know who the good guy is. The question is simply irrelevant.

The script was written with a mind to keep the important details of the original story intact but to make it as realistic as possible. The gods are there but only in spirit. They don't get directly involved in the action like the original. I think this is a good thing as well. Troy looks like historical recreation rather than a literal translation of the poem. In one scene I thought there was an unlikely event and researched only to find it actually is in the Iliad. When the writer was asking for too much, he was in fact being true to the text. My bad.

OK, visually this film is amazing. Not just the army special effects but the sets and scenery are all beautiful. The costuming is first rate and feels very authentic. Remember, we are going back 3200 years. Quite an accomplishment.

The violence is likewise beautiful. Blood and guts galore, but interestingly it is both on the battlefield AND in single combat. A fight fan will appreciate the attention to detail in the combatants' moves. I had never seen a shield wielded so realistically on film. Spear and sword are given very realistic treatments as well.

Brad Pitt is a good actor. No question about that. Here he has a few moments where he seems out of place, a pretty boy in a soldier's world. But the combat scenes with him are more than enough to make up for that. It has already been discussed how much bigger he is than in Fight Club. The womens will have plenty to look at. His character is complicated and this is also true to the Iliad. Brad Pitt does this internal conflict lots of justice. His actions in the film really seem appropriate. I never asked, like I do in other films, "Why did he do that?" But this is not Brad Pitt's film. It's Eric Bana's.

Eric Bana was amazing. If Achilles was complex, then Bana's Hector is even more so. I had only seen Bana in Black Hawk Down and The Hulk and while BHD was good, there wasn't much for his character to do but be a soldier. The Hulk was so bad I wrote him off completely, blaming his acting for not saving a horrible script. But here in Troy I have new-found respect. He is the main character in the film if you judge by acting power. Lots of emotional struggling going on here that Bana takes on like a pro. He will join this generation's acting elite if he finds more roles like this.

The rest of the cast is good enough with a special note for Peter O'Toole and Brian Cox. Their lines are well delivered and their characters are believable.

The writing is good as far as plot development goes but I would take a few points away for some of the modern vocabulary. "Stop playi

Fmovies: I finally got to see this movie in the bargain theaters here in El Paso on Labor Day. I originally hadn't thought much about the movie, but as time went on it had left the regular theaters here in town and I realized that I'd wished I'd gone to see it. I remember hearing several outside critics blasting the movie as horrible and wanted to judge for myself. I'm very glad I finally saw this movie.

This movie is not the usual Clash of the Titans/Jason and the Argonauts type of movie where the gods are constantly shown and portrayed as more important and powerful than the lowly humans. In fact, this movie completely ignores the so-called gods and instead places the focus where it belongs -- on the warriors themselves. I have studied the Iliad as well as other stories surrounding the mythical Trojan War since my days as an elementary school geek obsessed with mythology and Dungeons & Dragons. Instead of being targeted toward that audience this film demystifies the Trojan War and treats it in a manner in which it could have actually happened. We see that the elders who continually refer to their so-called gods come across as fools. One of the most telling lines is when Hector (Eric Bana) refers to the fact that Apollo did not strike down Achilles (Brad Pitt) for desecrating the statue. It is very telling that Hector seems to doubt the gods he has been taught to worship.

I have been a longtime critic of Brad Pitt as a second-tier talent who became famous only because of his looks, but in this film he surprised me. He is the TRUE star of the film. Achilles is easily the most interesting and entertaining character. I applaud Brad Pitt's effort in making his character a tragic hero. Achilles acknowledges that he is NOT the son of a goddess and is not immortal or invulnerable. The movie basically shows us how a rumor can blossom into a legend unto itself. Achilles' legend BECOMES immortal. He even refers to this in my favorite scene when he is inspiring his men and starts the invasion heavily outnumbered and still triumphs. Later in the same scene he scoffs at the so-called gods the Greeks and Trojans worship by decapitating the statue. I found this scene symbolic of the movie itself. The gods are nothing to both the characters and audience.

Instead of supernatural powers and impossible feats we're treated to realism. Even Achilles' death is more realistic than in the myth. In the myth Paris does kill Achilles with an arrow, but because he has no battle skills his hand is actually guided by Apollo.

If there was one thing I did not like in this film it was the transformation of Paris into some kind of hero. Paris was a coward in the original myth and I saw no reason to transform him into an overnight hero in the movie. I guess Orlando Bloom fans wouldn't be able to bear seeing him as the bad guy and were given the uninspired transformation of Paris into a better archer than Robin Hood.

While this movie was nowhere near the epic masterpiece that the producers had hoped or that it was advertised as, it did not deserve the bad publicity it received from critics. I applaud the makers of this film and look forward to buying it on DVD.

"Troy" (2004) Dir. Wolfgang Petersen I, like so many others, was expecting A LOT out of "Troy" when I headed along to opening night and sat in the dark cinema, watching the action unfold. Initially, I didn't think as much of the movie as I now do. I gave it a 7/10 on first viewing, but I knew I had to see it again, it is just one of those films that demands multiple viewings.

So I saw it again for History class (since it's not historically accurate, perhaps that wasn't the best idea). And I bought the DVD.

And look what happened.

I strongly suggest to anyone who was looking forward to "Troy" in cinemas to rent or buy the DVD and give it another chance in your home. It is truly a much richer, perhaps even exciting experience, as your expectations have been lowered, and often this makes a movie-watching experience better.

Anyone who is not tired of the two-huge-armies-face-off battles we've been seeing in "The Lord of the Rings" films and now many other films following in that trilogy's footsteps will sure love the battles in "Troy". "Troy" takes it's battle sequences very seriously and while they have an epic grandeur look about them, at the heart of the battle - men are dying, men are killing other men. It's not all about kicking ass in this film. The battle sequences are a little more graphic than you might expect, and they are certainly brutal.

Brad Pitt, looking absolutely incredible here (the months of training sure paid off), shoulders the movie with much confidence and adds layers to his arrogant, self-centred Achilles. It's refreshing that Pitt, though technically the central hero of the piece, plays the character in a less likable way than you might expect. Achilles is unpredictable and dangerous, he was "born to end lives". As the greatest warrior in history, he is most definitely convincing.

Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom play more emotional heroes, and while Bana manages to give Hector an awesome kick-ass edge, strong nobility and adds many dimensions to his heroic part, Bloom doesn't quite handle the job as well. I do not dismiss Bloom's part in the film to be the "pussy" as so many have put it, but in emotional scenes, Bloom simply falls flat. His lines ("I'll hunt deer and rabbit, we can live off the land!") are often laughable due to bad delivery. It is more likely Bloom was put in this part for his looks rather than his talent, which is still in question by yours truly. I did like, though, that Bloom had a more realistic touch, the scene in which he faces Menelaus and fails to defeat him, running back to his brother, is nerve-wracking and powerful, not all men were great butt-kicking heroes, even back then, so it's good to see that put into the film, even if he does play the more "pussy" role.

One of my main complaints about the film the first time around was the unnecessary relationship between Briseis and Achilles. With more viewings, I have come to appreciate this subplot a lot more. As Achilles puts it, she gave him peace in a time of violence and war. Achilles is a character so often covered in other men's blood, constantly killing and fighting, that Briseis allows for Pitt to show the more sensitive side is actually useful to the character's development. Their final scene together is very emotional and the actors have genuine chemistry.

Wolfgang Petersen was criticised for being too much of a

Troy fmovies. The Good: Peter O'Toole Sean Bean Eric Bana Rose Byrne Brian Cox Fight Sequences

The Bad: Some of the dialogue THE MUSIC! (So disappointing considering how good the music in the trailer is)

There have been a lot of reviews making very sweeping statements about this movie. Especially regarding the casting of Brad Pitt and the acting of Orlando Bloom. To be honest, the above is nothing to worry about, both do a more than adequate job. One review on here said the movie would have been spectacular if it was on mute. I didn't know what he/she meant, but I can laugh about it now. (they're right) As the only downsides to this movie is the music and some of the dialogue. Other than that it great entertainment. O'Toole was awesome (like there ever was a doubt) every scene Sean Bean was in boosted the credability of the film. I felt sorry for Eric Bana's character Hector which means he did his job well. Rose Byrne and Brian Cox were the two surprise packets, delivering powerful and believable performances. All of which adds to the theory that if you want a great epic: You can't leave all the acting to the Americans! one needs some Brits or Aussies.(like in.. Gladiator, Braveheart, Lord of the Rings and now Troy.)

Don't worry about all the hype, this is a great and inexpensive way to spend an entertaining 3 hours. The scenery and fight sequences are awesome, it's almost worth paying to see how Brad Pitt moves with some of his weapons (shield especially).

7/10

Well well,.................. expected the worse because of hype, but i was gladly surprised . Screenplay , direction and most of all Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Brian Cox, and Peter o'Toole were completely on top of their game, even Olando Bloom as the love sick coward Paris was very watchable.

Fight scenes were not overdone, and the love scenes were part of but didn't completely rule the story of Troy which I also liked. If any thing else Troy will go down as having one of the most impressive fight scenes of any film in history. The fight between Hector and Achilles is reason enough to watch Troy alone...

Recent Hollywood epics are usually not as good as older versions. This film is an exception. Unusually good for the era of comic book superheroes.

All the cast is superb. Main, secondary and even large scenes were very good. A prime king Priam, an excellent Hector... Historical details seem correct at first sight. Looks like homework was done, this time. KUDOS for the whole team! This is important. As in so many things in life, details make the difference.

I am a fan of Brad Pitt, because he's a good movie barometer. There are good actors that participate is bad movies. Brad Pitt doesn't. I guess that's just not his style.