May 14, 2004 -- “Troy” is an costume action drama on the grand scale of older films like “Spartacus,” a cast of thousands, a cost of millions, is what they used to say. It is a spectacle on a grand scale. The acting is good, but the story is a bit on the grim and sour side.

The story is set up early when we see Greek hero Achilles (played by a super buff Brad Pitt) being given an interesting choice by his mother, Thetis (played by veteran actress Julie Christie). Thetis, a goddess of legend, tells Achilles he can settle down to a peaceful and happy life, but he will eventually be forgotten. His other choice is to pursue glory on the battlefield. He will be remembered forever, but will never return home to Greece again. He chooses the glory, of course.

The war is precipitated by Helen (played by the gorgeous Diane Kruger) leaving her husband, King Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson of “Cold Mountain”) for a Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom of “The Lord of the Rings” movies. Menelaus demands that his wife be returned. The king of Troy, Priam (Peter O'Toole of “The Last Emperor”) refuses. Menelaus asks his brother, King Agamemnon (Brian Cox of “X-2”) to join him in war against Troy. Agamemnon agrees, but he has his own reasons for going to Troy. He wants to rule the world. Agamemnon and Achilles, don't get along at all, but they form an uneasy alliance of sorts. Achilles has no respect for Agamemnon. Among the kings who go to war against Troy is Odysseus (played by Sean Bean of “The Lord of the Rings” movies.

The stage is set for war, a thousand ships, the greatest fleet the world has seen, sails against Troy. The Trojans are secure behind the massive walls guarding their city, protected by their matchless archers. The Greeks greatest warrior is Achilles, while the hero of Troy is Prince Hector (Eric Bana of “Hulk”). The climactic battle pits these two against each other. It is one of the best fighting scenes I have ever seen. The fight is not shown close up, but at a distance, so you can see the actors actually performing the fight sequences. There are not a lot of cuts, either. The fighting sequences are complex and extended. The fight scenes are well-choreographed. A lot of care was taken with these scenes. One of the better fights matches Hector against Ajax (played by pro wrestler Tyler Mane of “X-Men”). There are also some fine large-scale battle scenes.

The drama of the story is a bit muddled. There are a couple of romances involving Helen and Paris, and Achilles and Briseis (played by Rose Byrne of “I Capture the Castle.” Neither romance is very convincing and neither one is really developed very much. The relationship between Hector and his family members is developed about as well as anything in the film. The friendships aren't developed much. Most of the characters seem pretty self-centered. It is hard to work up much sympathy for any of them, even the heroes. Hector is definitely the most noble of the heroes in the movie. The characters are developed fairly well in this film, but they are not very interesting. Peter O'Toole has a good scene with Brad Pitt, though, flashing some of that brilliant talent he still has after all these years.

While the story doesn't work all that well as a drama or romance (the story was inspired by one of the oldest tales in Western civilization, The Iliad), it does offer good fight scenes and some great spectacle in the grand Hollywood tradition. I can recommend it for that, which is a major part of the movie, after all. This film rates a C+.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2004 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at .