Troy

Troy has failed to lived up to expectations. We expose its Achilles heel.

Troy is based on the Homer's epic tale of the Illiad, a story that has captured the minds of millions over countless years and for centuries the city was believed to be a myth until it was uncovered by Heinrich Schliemann. The story and its characters have had a far reaching influence despite their age, and now it has finally undergone the Hollywood treatment at the hands of Wolfgang Peteresen. The film is based upon the war between Greece and the city of Troy which began after Helen, the wife of the king of Sparta, absconded with Paris, son of the king of Troy.

Helen was reputed to have been the most beautiful woman in the world and her husband was so enraged that he persuaded his brother Agamemnon to lead a Greek army to recapture her. The army was the largest the world had ever seen, hence it is said of Helen that she had 'the face that launched a thousand ships'. The film mainly revolves around Achilles, the greatest soldier in the Greek army, and his struggles with Agamemnon and Hector, Troy's fiercest warrior.

Such an epic has been accompanied by a big budget and an all star cast including Brad Pitt (Achilles), Eric Bana (Hector) and Orlando Bloom (Paris). Unfortunately all the razzle-dazzle of Tinseltown cannot make up for a somewhat ambiguous experience, as Troy is yet another example of Hollywood spending millions on a film that doesn't add up to much. Such is the strength of the cast that Petersen seemingly has to juggle between their screen time with the script and the end result is a mishap of sorts.

The director sets out his stall by trying to create a tragedy, but the viewer is unable to form any deep emotional attachments with the cast and is instead left somewhat confused by the general lack of direction in the script. This is not only evident in the main storyline with Pitt's tragic character, Achilles, but also with some secondary characters, especially Paris. None of the actors seem to know exactly where their characters are headed so you end up in a state of limbo, not exactly sure what you are supposed to be thinking. Achilles is meant to be the tragic hero, such a character is typically a great man who falls from a great height for whom we feel a great sympathy. As a warrior the audience cannot be but impressed by Achilles' skill, but as man there is little to connect with, he aspires to be remembered through the ages but the sacrifices he has to make for this are not made particularly clear. The end result is a lack of depth; as an action movie it's highly enjoyable, but overall it never quite reaches the heights it aspires to.

The ten year war at Troy is one of the most talked about encounters of all time; its climax has even been hailed as possibly the most innovative military tactic of all time. Wolfgang Petersen has been charged with recreating the magnitude of the conflict and to his credit the film is nothing short of impressive in this respect. Through the wonders of modern technology the huge battles and the mass movement of troops have been portrayed in a realistic fashion, there are points where the viewer will gasp in awe at the sheer numbers of troops on screen at the one time.

What is interesting to note is that the action is much easier to swallow than movies like Braveheart, the fight scenes focus much more on skill rather than the brutality of war. As a result of scenes like the Greek army landing at the beach of Troy, you cannot but admire the training the actors went through in order to film this movie. The tactics and fighting skills involved are beautiful to watch; the combatants glide across the screen as though they were part of some intricate dance routine. Battles prove to be quite innovative with great technique shown by the actors involved; I was really impressed watching Pitt spin his shield blocking spears and then spinning off onto the next opponent. Hector's (Bana) duel with Achilles is easily the highlight of the film as Pitt proves his character is the greatest warrior the world has ever seen, it is almost Matrix-like and is a fitting culmination for all their efforts preparing for the movie.

Unfortunately Troy wants to be much more than an action movie; a whole range of emotions are emitted throughout the film but with very disappointing results. Take for example the underlying love story that runs between Paris and Helen. Firstly the casting should be called into question slightly as Helen (Diane Kruger) does not really come across as the face that launched a thousand ships and Bloom comes off more of a spoilt little boy than a prince of Troy. Throughout the film Bloom continuously disappoints; he seems to come off at the wrong end of the stick in every fight scene and I could only feel contempt for him thereafter. His character seems to be a spineless coward rather than a great lover, it is left to the film's other actors to continuously pull him up but you begin to question why are people so good to him.

One of the reasons the film fails is because of the poor relationship between Bloom and Kruger. A love that is meant to be so honest and pure that it inspired a nation to fight for it becomes a case of a family correcting the young son's childish mistakes instead. To make up for this the focus hangs heavily on Hector (Bana), thankfully he is able to carry the extra burden and is supported by his on-screen wife Andromache (Saffron Burrows). Hector is the film's redeeming character and should the film have been based around him it would have made much more sense.

Troy has a star studded cast but, with the exception of Bana, the main characters disappoint. Thankfully the actors that are more on the periphery keep the film from sinking; Cox (Agamemnon) and O'Toole (Priam) are fantastic, both give exemplary performances and give the film some direction at last. Apart from Agamemnon and Priam you are not quite sure who is a villain or the hero, you are left trying to decide which faction to have sympathy for but Cox pulls all the strings and is an excellent heel. In much the same way O'Toole plays the perfect foil to Cox's Agamemnon and comes across as the naive father whose beliefs cloud his judgement.

Troy really suffers from Pitt's stale portrayal of Achilles as it completely takes away from all the good work done by Bana, Cox and O'Toole. It really is on quite a different wavelength from everything the film represents as Pitt cannot portray the struggle choosing between happiness and his name's immortality. He has always stood out playing quirky characters but fails to carry the movie when the responsibility of bearing its weight is thrust upon his shoulders. It's ironic Pitt should consider taking time out of Hollywood to pursue architecture because his shabby portrayal of Achilles tears down whatever foundations O'Toole and Cox have lain.

Piaras Kelly
Film Critic, Kikizo Movies

T H E   S C O R E S

Screenplay Direction Cinematics Production Overall 5.0 6.0 8.0 7.0 6.5

The Final Word:  Overall Troy is a let down - another case of Hollywood thinking that star power makes for a good movie. Wolfgang Petersen should have concentrated on making the plot interesting and absorbing, rather than giving us a spectacle full of special effects and famous names to behold. The film is worth seeing but it is undeserving of its tremendous build-up, or the story attached to it. If it is an action movie that you're after then Troy is two and a half hours of great fun, but it definitely isn't a thinking man's movie. Pitt is Troy's Achilles heel, despite any of the good work done in this movie he is left hopelessly exposed as the film's ultimate weakness; the real tragedy is that either Priam or Hector could have been the film's tragic hero instead.