"I've fought many wars in my time. Some I've
fought for land, some for power, some for glory.
I suppose fighting for love makes more sense
than all the rest."
Well,
I'm on the fence with this one. Despite some
egregious liberties taken with the classic poem,
'Troy' is still inspired by one of the greatest
stories ever told. I suppose I can forgive the
inconsistencies with Homer's "The Illiad" and
try my best to focus on the film version which
comes with a production cost of $200 million. As
with all of these obscenely priced blockbuster
movies, one expects and demands lavish sets,
seamless special effects and extraordinary
action sequences. In addition, one hopes to have
a quality cast delivering passable dialogue. In
the case of Wolfgang Peterson's 'Troy', he
succeeds in some regards and fails in others,
leaving me torn between a mild recommendation
and a marginal failing grade. I hope by the end
of this review I will be able to make up my
mind.
Almost everyone is familiar with the story.
Helen of Sparta (Diane Kruger) is stolen away
from her husband Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) by
Paris of Troy. In an act of desperate revenge,
Menelaus seeks the help of his brother Agamemnon
(Brian Cox), who controls the armies of Greece.
Together, they launch a thousand ships across
the Aegean Sea to attack the impenetrable city
of Troy in hopes of recapturing Helen and
exacting revenge on those who betrayed them.
Their chief warrior is Achilles (Brad Pitt), a
god-like man who wins wars by himself if need
be. In their final attempt at destroying Troy,
they create a gift to the Gods in the form of a
gigantic wooden horse. The Trojan people bring
it inside the gates of Troy unaware of its
deadly contents.
There are some other twists, turns and plot
threads along the way in this 165 minute epic.
Hector (Eric Bana), brother to Paris, is the
leader of the Trojan army and is the father of a
newborn infant boy. Briseis (Rose Byrne) is
cousin to the Trojan brothers and is captured by
the Greeks. In this adaptation, she is protected
from the soldiers by Achilles and they fall in
love on the eve of war. Odysseus (Sean Bean) is
the messenger between Achilles and Agamemnon,
who do not get along at all. He is also the one
who devises the Trojan horse plan.
Where to start? The ancient story is beyond
criticism. I love the idea that the greatest war
ever fought was for the love of one woman... the
most beautiful woman who ever lived. I have no
complaints with the premise of the film.
The fight sequences are also laudable. This is
especially true of the one on one battles. I
really liked the way the camera flowed around
the fights, never confusing us with lightening
quick edits and extreme close-ups. I really felt
like I was fully aware of the action at all
times. The full army sequences were typically
grand to behold and quite spectacular, even
though this CGI army routine is getting rather
tired. Every film that comes out seems to want
to top the previous one in terms of scale. The
armies in this film even seem to dwarf those
seen in the Lord of the Rings flicks.
However, despite the great story and the
incredible action, this film fails in far too
many areas to be considered a triumphant
success. Although I appreciated the efforts of
Eric Bana, Rose Byrne, Sean Bean and Brendan
Gleeson, there are a few actors in this film
that are truly awful. Most notably among them is
Orlando Bloom, who is shockingly embarrassing as
Paris. Every belabored twitch that Bloom tries
to pass off as acting is cringe inducing. He
imbues his character with the depth of a wading
pool. It is one of the worst performances in
years. I was also thoroughly disappointed with
Peter O'Toole, who does his best impression of a
skeleton while overdoing virtually every facial
expression. Brian Cox has been a tremendous
character actor in recent years, but his
portrayal of Agamemnon belongs in a Steven
Seagal movie instead. Even Saffron Burrows, one
of my favorite actresses, gives a weak effort as
she chews the scenery with her minimal screen
time as Hector's wife.
Brad Pitt handles a difficult task with a fine
effort... although it may be in a losing cause.
Much like Tom Cruise in 2003's 'The Last
Samurai', he constantly struggles to overcome a
very modern Southern California look while
portraying a legendary warrior. I don't think
Pitt gives a bad performance, but he may be too
much of a pretty boy to pull this role off. Any
viewer will have a hard time forgetting that
it's Brad Pitt.
Another thankless task is bestowed upon Diane
Kruger. Any time that any actress is called upon
to play Helen of Troy, the primary requirement
is to be stunningly beautiful. And while Kruger
handles that with sublime ease, it is her
dialogue that lets her down. Some of the lines
that she has to utter are quite pathetic. In
fact, most of the cast has to deal with
unintentionally funny lines of dialogue.
However, Diane Kruger is undoubtedly a move
star. She has the perfect face and a flawless
body to match. Add a little acting talent and a
drive to make it in the business and she will be
around for quite a while. Just ask Keira
Knightley, who became the new Hollywood it girl
with a similar resumé.
The great acting in this film comes from a
select few. Sean Bean and Brendan Gleeson have
small but notable roles that are played with
supreme confidence. However, the two stand-outs
are Eric Bana and Rose Byrne. Bana is
magnificent as Hector, leader of the Trojan
army. He exudes a presence on screen that
dwarfed Bloom's and outshone Pitt's
significantly. At no point while watching him on
screen did I feel like he was out of place... he
belongs in a film like this. Rose Byrne is my
pick as the best thing to come out of this film.
This Australian beauty reminds me of Monica
Bellucci. Her minor role as Briseis may have
been the most intriguing of the entire film. Her
burgeoning relationship with Achilles was the
one aspect of the movie that had me really
riveted. I wanted to see that plot thread
expanded upon. But in her limited screen time,
Byrne was able to create a truly sympathetic
character who felt more three-dimensional than
the rest of the cast put together. I predict and
hope that Rose Byrne will be a rising star in
Hollywood over the next few years.
Two final little issues I must raise have to do
with the set design and the score. I found the
sets to be amazingly unrealistic given the
budget of the film. Many of the buildings seemed
obviously fake. I got the distinct impression
that I was looking at painted styrofoam rather
than actual rock and granite. There was no real
weight or realism in the sets. And as for the
score, which is the most under-appreciated
aspect of filmmaking, well... it stunk. James
Horner has orchestrated many movie masterpieces,
but this was his most forgettable work ever. One
expects chills to go down one's spine in a film
like this. 'Troy' barely has a single memorable
bar of music. I was very disappointed.
So... Have I made up my mind whether or not to
offer a mild recommendation or a marginal
failing grade? I am afraid I have to turn my
thumb down on this one. It just didn't do enough
to merit the price of admission. I came in
hoping that this was going to be the blockbuster
event of the Summer movie season. Instead, I
left feeling underwhelmed despite a massive
spectacle and a handful of quality performances.
I've teetered back and forth in the few hours
since seeing the film, and I concede that I may
sway the other way in subsequent viewings, but
for now I have to advise against a trip to see
this adaptation of the classic tale.
©
Written by TC Candler
Richard
Propes' Comment
"Troy" is
a remarkable disappointment from Wolfgang
Peterson featuring a "pretty boy" performance
from Brad Pitt and an awkward performance from
Peter O'Toole. It's always a bad sign when the
supporting cast outshines the stars, but that's
true across the board here. The film's
Oscar-nominated costumes are quite remarkable,
along with the production aspects of the film.
Unfortunately, a poorly adapted script and
sub-par lead performances keep "Troy" from being
anything worth remembering.
Jacob
Hall's Comment
n/a
