What's most impressive about Wolfgang Petersen's Troy isn't its rousing...

What's most impressive about Wolfgang Petersen's Troy isn't its rousing super-battles, the grandiose scale of its sets or its expert cinematography. We know that Hollywood has the ability to pull off such large-scale trickery. And, after such successful epics as Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, such sights and sounds should come as no surprise, considering what is capable with today's moviemaking technology. What's most impressive about Troy is that it comes across as an effective and even insightful character study, even if it can never transcend the feeling that you're just watching a big, expensive magic trick.



Troy is "inspired" by Homer's poem The Iliad, which, along with The Odyssey, is something most of us read in high school English class. Homer's book chronicles, often with gruesome detail, the war between the Greeks and the city of Troy after Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) falls in love with Greek princess Helen (Diane Kruger). Paris and Helen steal away to Troy, causing Helen's husband Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) to urge his brother Agamemnon (Brian Cox) to wage war on the Trojans. The Greek army launches a thousand ships to the Troy beach, accompanied by the supposedly invincible Achilles (Brad Pitt). The 10-year war begins, though in Troy it only feels like a few days.



The screenplay by David Benioff does an excellent job in conjuring up a two-and-a-half-hour Cliff Notes version of Homer's poem. Disposing of the gods as characters with active roles in the war, the script's story arc is only interested in key plot points, which does wonders in maintaining a consistent narrative pace. Benioff wrote the source novel and screenplay for Spike Lee's excellent 25th Hour, so it's appropriate that he would be more interested in the inner turmoil of a few key characters rather than staging battles that go on for 20 minutes. The most memorable scene in the film isn't a fight, but rather a quiet, desperate moment between Achilles and Trojan king Priam (Peter O'Toole). It's a meeting that probably never happened, but it goes a long way in developing the film's underlying themes of honor, respect and ultimately something of an anti-war message.




Which is not to say the film is without its breathtaking spectacle. The fight scenes are expertly choreographed, offering a fighting style that is rarely (if ever) seen in film — the opponents actually seem like they're trying to kill each other, which is quite a contrast to the increasingly tiresome martial arts that Hollywood has become obsessed with since the dawn of The Matrix. The fight between Achilles and Hector (Eric Bana) is especially impressive — even though the film never gets past the illusion that we're watching Brad Pitt and the guy who played the Hulk fighting each other, it does seem like they've become well-trained enough that they could kill each other if they felt like it.



The performances range from excellent to not-so-hot, with Eric Bana and Peter O'Toole leading the pack with their nuanced and sensitive portrayals. Bana is especially impressive after his rather uneven performance as Bruce Banner in last summer's Hulk. He makes Hector the most likable — and most human — character. Brad Pitt is, well, Brad Pitt — not always on the mark but consistently fun to watch, which could sum up most of his performances throughout the years. Brian Cox is amusing as he grumbles and growls throughout the film, and he looks great compared to the overweight Irish bartender he played in 25th Hour. Orlando Bloom and newcomer Diane Kruger come across as rather weak, though the screenplay doesn't seem interested in the story of their characters beyond pointing out that it's their fault that this war started in the first place. Bloom still has some work to do if he's to prove that his focused and intense performance as Legolas in The Lord of the Rings wasn't just a fluke.




Troy is ultimately smarter and more humanistic than your average sweeping epic, offering a brief glimpse into the souls of the men who fought this war and the women who mourned their deaths. It's also ultimately just a little too light and superficial in this examination to be something that will be considered a classic in the years to come. But for a season that's usually filled with disposable films, it will serve as a pleasing alternative.



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