 Movie
Reviews
with Evelyn Gough
Troy
Directed by Wolfgang Petersen
 Troy boy - Brad Pitt as the leather-clad Achilles.
If there were two things the ancient Greeks were good at it was designing architectural masterpieces and writing really sad stories.
One of the best known Greek tragedies is Homer's The Iliad. Even if you're fuzzy on the details most people have heard of the stunningly beautiful Helen of Troy and the Trojan horse. And what about the saying "your Achille's heel." Ever wondered where that came from?
Well now you can find out, courtesy of director Wolfgang Petersen's epic movie Troy.
Sure, it all sounded like Greek to me initially but it wasn't long before I was engrossed in this story of passion and war.
There's nothing I like better than a historical epic with plenty of hacking and chopping and there's certainly no lack of graphic battle scenes and hand to hand combat in Troy. And best of all, the person doing most of the hacking and chopping is the buffed and beautiful Brad Pitt. Brad plays "the greatest fighter in the world", Achilles. He has been asked by Odysseus (Sean Bean) to go to war for their King, Agamemnon (Brian Cox), a power-hungry dictator whom Achilles can't stand. Agamemnon has declared war on Troy, supposedly to avenge his brother Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) whose beautiful young wife Helen, Queen of Sparta (Diane Kruger) has done a runner with the young Trojan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom). Turns out Agamemnon has been waiting for an excuse to invade Troy and ultimately control the whole of the Agean.
And so the Trojan War begins...
The major problem I had with this film was I didn't know who to barrack for. Paris turns out to be a cowardly weasel and Achilles is nothing more than a professional killer and a show-off, albeit a very attractive one.
And therein lies another problem. Not that I'm into stereotypes but really, Brad has to be the most unlikely looking Greek imaginable. The guy hasn't got a single body hair (and believe me, you get to see a lot of Brad's body. Not that I'm complaining!)
As far as I'm concerned it's the Aussies who once again shine in this production. Eric Bana as Prince Hector and Rose Byrne as Briseis emerge as the most credible and sympathetic characters. Peter O'Toole as Troy's King Priam isn't half bad either.
As an entertaining spectacle Troy works but if you're expecting another Gladiator you'll be disappointed.
Rating: 
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