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Troy I have a confession. I have always been a big Greek Mythology nerd since junior high. I remember my eighth grade English class devoted about 2 weeks to the subject, mainly concentrating on Homer’s poem “The Iliad”. I loved all of the stories and characters and wanted to know more. I went out and bought a copy of Thomas Bulfinch’s “Bullfinch’s Mythology”. I submersed myself in the stories of Apollo, Achilles, Zeus and Hera and the Trojan War and the fall of Troy and enjoyed every minute. I have watched “Clash of the Titans” more times than I would like to admit. Imagine my excitement when I first saw the trailer for “Troy”.
Anyone who has read Homer’s “The Iliad”, the story told in “Troy” is well known. The Prince of Troy, Paris, played by Orlando Bloom, steals Queen Helen of Sparta, played by Diane Kruger, from her husband Greek King Menelaus, played by Brendan Gleeson on the night before a peace treaty was to be put into affect. Paris goes to his brother Hector, played by Eric Bana and asks for his help in getting her from Sparta back to Troy. He agrees to help his brother. They all return to Troy and reveal the new relationship to their father, King Priam, played by Peter O’ Toole. King Priam allows Paris to keep Helen at his side in Troy. However, King Menelaus is not going to give up that easy. He enlists the help of his brother King Agamemnon, played by Brian Cox, to raise an army and go to Troy to retrieve his wife. Agamemnon is happy to oblige for he would like to expand his empire and control Troy as well. Thus setting off the Greek/Trojan war that would rage on for several years. It is here that Odysseus enters the plot. Odysseus, played by Sean Bean convinces the famed warrior Achilles, played by Brad Pitt, to fight with him and King Agamemnon. Although Achilles dislikes Agamemnon and they have had their differences, Achilles sees the opportunity to claim fame and glory through fighting this battle and agrees. Achilles grabs his armor and sword and departs for Troy with the thousands of others fighting for King Agamemnon. Odysseus himself will play a crucial part in the battle for Troy later in the film, however I will not ruin that part of the story here. The battle for Troy is the bulk of the film. The plot does allow you to see the relationship between Paris and Helen. The audience also sees the relationship between Hector and his wife Andromache and their infant son Astyanax. Achilles has a relationship with Briseis, played by Rose Byrne, that begins as her being giving to him essentially as a captive to amuse himself but develops into more. She also happens to be a cousin to Hector and Paris, further complicating matters if that is possible. All of these story lines give a depth to the film beyond just the great battle sequences in the film.
The audience gets to see and incredible battle between Hector and Ajax, played by Tyler Mane. We also get to see a show stopping battle between Hector and Achilles and several epic battles between thousands of Greeks and Trojans for control of the City of Troy. These battle scenes are epic, visceral and incredible. Every bit of the estimated $200 million budget is on the screen. The sets are enormous and lavish as are the costumes. The CGI work is breathtaking. The performances are all top notch. Brad Pitt’s portrayal of Achilles, Eric Bana’s portrayal of Hector and Brian Cox’s portrayal of King Agamemnon all have just the right amounts of muscle meshed with tragedy. Orlando Bloom’s portrayal of Paris is decent but he had a tough character to portray. Paris was not known for his bravery and his selfishness in wanting Helen in his life is the catalyst for the ultimate fall of Troy. Peter O’ Toole’s performance, as King Priam, is also exceptional. David Benioff had a monumental task in adapting “The Iliad” and other sources of information into the plot of “Troy”. The audience will notice the absence of the gods other than characters mentioning them in dialogues. I missed getting to see the gods’ influence on the stories, such as Apollo and Zeus. This film belongs strictly to the mortals and not the immortals. I do understand that at its 165 minute running time, the director and the writer had to leave some things out. However, he did a great job adapting the classic stories for this film. Certain elements and motivations for some characters have changed in some of the familiar stories but only for the sake of keeping the film moving forward. Benioff was able to keep four main themes consecutively throughout the film, power, love, glory and honor. Upon watching the film, the audience will understand which of these applies to the motivation and actions in each of the four main characters Achilles, Hector, Agamemnon and Paris. I found my allegiances shifting several times in the film, coming to new understandings of their characters and motivations at different times in the film. I enjoyed the fact that there wasn’t a defined hero or enemy in the film rather characters motivated by different emotions and histories. In “Troy”, there is enough action, gore and fight sequences to keep the high action/adventure film fans happy, the right amount of family drama and romance to keep those members of the audience happy, and enough retelling of the classic Greek Mythology stories to keep those members of the audience happy. The film felt slightly long in certain parts and the dialogue at times is a little substandard but those are minor nit-picks compared to how good the film is overall. “Troy”, is a return to the great old “sword and sandal” action/adventure films from an earlier time in cinema history. It might even inspire you to dust off your old copy of “Bulfinch’s Mythology” that is lurking in your closet or seek one out if you never had a copy of your own and lose yourself in some classic stories. 8/10 -Suzie Lackey |
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Troy
Directed by Wolfgang Peterson
Starring Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Peter O’Toole, Brian Cox
Review: 7/10
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