Matt's Movie Blog

Saturday, May 15, 2004

Review: Troy
May 13, 2004; Regal Falmouth #1
* * * (out of four)

Oh, what this could have been. Understand that a three-star review is none too shabby, but there are a few downfalls that severely limit this movie. Most of them have to do with exactly how much of the story was really "inspired" by Homer's The Iliad, but more on that later. Mostly what you have in Troy is an epic in the style of The Return of the King, using massive battles and a beautiful backdrop to propel an ensemble cast through an under- or misdeveloped story.

Troy was adapted from The Iliad by David Benioff... but why? Records of Homer's story date back three thousand years, and along with The Odyssey it is still considered one of the most celebrated epics ever composed. One would think that alone would make for a compelling movie, and for me, too many liberties were taken; moreover, most of the liberties played out much worse than the original story would have. For example, in the original story, the main conflict within the Achaeans is Agamemnon's (Brian Cox) seizure of a Trojan priestess that Achilles (Brad Pitt) had claimed as his war prize and bride. In Troy, the relationship between Achilles and Briseis (Rose Byrne) is romantic, almost to a Romeo and Juliet level. It strikes me that this would change the entire character of Achilles away from how he is historically presented. Also, though an assault on a temple to Apollo confirms the importance of the gods in the every day lives of the characters, only Achilles's nymph mother Thetis appears. The other gods who play prominent roles in the story - Zeus, Hermes, Athena, Aphrodite - are only mentioned, and never hold any significance over the story itself. This disregard for the immortals clashes harshly with any historical evidence ever presented, and it seems like in some cases the filmmakers shirked historical accuracy in order to make a straight action movie, even though including the facts not only would have been easy, but also would have turned this into a smart action movie.

But despite these shortcomings, the cast drives through this movie in an uncanny, impressive manner. Brian Cox plays Agamemnon with such a lust for war and power that it is completely impossible to feel any regret when his time comes. Sean Bean's Odysseus is a wonderful contrast from the rest of the Achaean generals; he spends most of the movie quietly planning, and when he opens his mouth, it means something. Peter O'Toole plays King Priam of Troy exquisitely, rolling the love of a father, the compassion of a king, and the stubbornness of a warrior into a single being, never allowing any characteristic to overwhelm the other two. Shining above all else is Eric Bana as Hector, prince of Troy and commander of the Trojan army. Hector is the only character who truly shows every aspect adequately: the love of a husband and father, the love and protection of a leader, respect of a son, the love for a brother, disdain for a brother, respect of a warrior... all this and more. Impressive is that Bana never allows these heavy emotions to weigh Hector down; he's able to focus on each task while maintaining the importance of all the others. This is the only character I felt any pang of sorrow or lump in my throat for when the end drew near.

Conspicuous by their absences are Orlando Bloom and Brad Pitt. Bloom's Paris is humiliating. Granted, Paris is by no means a likable man - he steals another man's wife, and his lust results in the deaths of thousands of Trojans and Achaeans. But Bloom is playing a teenager dabbling in a man's war. Only cowering before Menelaus's (Brendan Gleeson) rage does Paris seem right in the movie. Pitt is hit-or-miss with his acting. If he has someone worthwhile to play off of (O'Toole, Bana, Cox, or Bean), he comes off looking excellent. Make him push the romance with Byrne, and one would begin to see Pitt getting bored, almost as if he knows what he's doing isn't working, or at least isn't meshing with Achilles's personality. Fortunately, there's enough of a focus on the supporting cast and Eric Bana that Bloom can be ignored, and Pitt can be remembered for the good parts, and forgiven for the bad.

Overall, Troy is enjoyable. Though a more strict adaptation of The Iliad would fare better, director Wolfgang Petersen delivers the action movie I think he wants to. Beautiful backdrops, excellent duels, and acting that ranges from solid to amazing sufficiently overshadow some bad choices and bad casting. Maybe not the kickoff to the summer blockbuster season that I and others had hoped, but Troy delivers 2.5 out of 3 hours of solid entertainment.

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