Review of Troy (2004) by Mrmoviebuff — 16 Nov 2016

The legendary Achilles goes to battle with the Trojans in Wolfgang Petersen's interpretation of 'Troy', loosely based on the story of "Ilaid". Brad Pitt possesses the role of the legendary Achilles, who is often seen as the greatest warrior.

It seems that he has had some quarrels with King Agamemnon (Brian Cox), the King often feels concerned over Achilles devil-may-care behavior, and his lack of respect for the king bothers himself. Meanwhile, we see two brothers, Prince Hector (Eric Bana) and his younger brother, Paris (Orlando Bloom) negotiating a peace treaty with Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson).

But all that peace fades away when Paris is having a secret affair with Menelaus' wife, Helen (Diane Kruger). When Paris informs Hector about this, Hector feels angry and worried that a war is about to come.

.. and that Menelaus will stop at nothing to make Paris suffer to get his wife back. Upon discovering his missing wife, Menelaus turns to his brother, Agamemnon for help. Agamemnon sees this as an opportunity to go to war, and must put all his trust in the talented Achilles to make sure that the war can be easily won.

Back at Troy, King Priam (Peter O'Toole) feels concerned when Paris introduces him to Helen, worried that if he is to send her back, Paris would follow her and get killed. He reluctantly decides to let her stay and let events unfold however they can.

While the production design of this movie is fascinating, the actors seem to fit the roles that they are cast in - Brad Pitt has the physique for Achilles, Orlando Bloom works as the heart-strung Paris, and Diane Kruger's beauty works for the beauty of Helen - and not forgetting the crafting of the action, it seems that the movie fails to deliver in terms of drama.

There is no emotional uphold, no sign of intensity, and no urgency either. It all feels like a typical Hollywood take on one of the greatest legend stories of all time. It's lavish, it's beautiful and it's grand, but underneath all of that lies something somewhat bland.

It's not a bad movie, just not a great one. Maybe if the actors were given a chance to act instead of appearing as attractive as possible, it would have worked, and maybe if the dialogue contained more plausibility, it would seem less unintentionally hilarious.

Overall, 'Troy' is entertaining, but not gripping.