“The sword is the axis of the world, and grandeur is indivisible.”
-- Charles de Gaulle
-- Charles de Gaulle
Pitt as Achilles Forget what you heard when Troy was released. The fact that it's only loosely based on The Iliad is a good thing (I hope I'm not offending the legions of die-hard Iliad fans). Characters are added. scenes are significantly shifted to give it more action, the dialogue is completely reworked, and overall the film feels much more historical (I realize it isn't actually historical, I just mean that if the gods influence this story, it is in subtle ways and mortals are mostly left to their own devices). The film's writer, David Benioff (yes, of HBO's "Game of Thrones" fame), has said that when forced to decide whether to follow The Iliad or to do what was best for the film, they always went with what was best for the film. That sort of honesty is refreshing, and serves the movie well. Director Wolfgang Peterson gets the most of his main actors and the grandeur of the scenery, doing a fantastic job of portraying the massive scope of the war. Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean, Peter O'Toole, Brian Cox, Garrett Hedlund, and Vincent Regan are all fantastic in their roles, but casting actually winds up being about the film's only weakness, with Diane Kruger being average at best, and several of the bit parts standing out as being actually rather awful.
Bana as Hector Probably the most notable addition to the movie that wasn't in the source material is the extra characters. Two were added, both to fill out the role of Achilles even more. Briseis, a love interest played by Rose Byrne, and Patroclus, Achilles' cousin played by Hedlund, who allows Achilles to expound some of his better lines about the nature of war and provides impetus when it's needed. When it comes to the other characters, it would be fair to watch this movie and wonder what has happened to Bana. He occasionally turns up in major roles like Nero in the rebooted Star Trek, but overall, his career has mostly treaded water. Seeing him play Hector as the perfect foil to Achilles, his opposite in almost every way, you have to wonder why he didn't take off, especially after his turn in Munich as well.
Bloom as Paris As for the couple whose romance incites the war, Orlando Bloom is perfectly cast as the effeminate, cowardly ladies' man Paris (though that may say more about Bloom than his acting). Diane Kruger on the other hand, is out of her depth almost from her first shot. She moves through the movie almost entirely expressionless and with a strange melding of accents to try to hide her native German that sounds completely out of place with the rest of the cast. Helen of Troy is supposed to be the most beautiful woman in the world, and nothing against Kruger, but considering she also wasn't bringing thespian levels of acting to the part, should have been recast. I realize we still wouldn't been talking about a Best Supporting Actress-level choice, but Kate Beckinsale's looks and British accent would have fit much better into the role. As for the minor roles, they can be downright abysmal. Within the first 10 minutes, you get a rider delivering some bad news to Cox's Agamemnon in about the worst delivery you'll find this side of porn, especially when contrasted against Cox delightfully turning into the skid and chewing his way through the scenery the entire movie.
Kruger as Helen The score composed by James Horner is fantastic for the movie. Gabriel Yared was originally hired to produce the score, but when test screenings were rather unfavorable towards his work, he was quickly replaced. Given the final product, even without hearing the original work, I can say it was probably a good choice. Full of brass and drums and haunting vocals, the tracks are always a perfect compliment to the action on screen. Except for a song by Josh Groban (that only plays during the end credits, don't worry), the soundtrack is phenomenal. They made the interesting choice in the "Director's Cut" of changing the music playing during Hector and Achilles pivotal fight scene to Danny Elfman's theme for Planet of the Apes. Yes, it works about as well as you're thinking, especially given how out of place it sounds with the rest of the soundtrack.
Bean as Odysseus Ultimately, the film's performance comes down to Pitt, as this is so obviously his story that modern Hollywood would most likely brand this movie The Legend of Achilles or something equally pompous. Pitt does not disappoint, and obviously took the role rather seriously, bulking up far beyond what we've seen in any of his other movies. While he was toned in Fight Club, he's carrying about 30 extra pounds of muscle over that movie here. He plays Achilles with a sort of fatalist stoicism, but this never gets boring, instead making him almost noble in spite of his character's motives ("I want what all men want; I just want it more."). The central theme of the movie is love, with Hector's love of his country, Achilles love of himself, and Paris's love of beauty all on display for the audience to dissect. This theme doesn't mean they skimped on the action though, with Achilles having a unique fighting style that makes the fight scenes the most memorable parts of the movie.
Falling smack in the middle of Hollywood's return to swords and sandals (Gladiator leading the charge and 300 coming after), it's ensemble cast offers something none of the others does: multiple storylines so that there are no real lulls in the action. Just for that, Troy deserves a place in the pantheon of great action movies.
Falling smack in the middle of Hollywood's return to swords and sandals (Gladiator leading the charge and 300 coming after), it's ensemble cast offers something none of the others does: multiple storylines so that there are no real lulls in the action. Just for that, Troy deserves a place in the pantheon of great action movies.
A near-perfect action movie with fantastic performances, but minor flaws in the casting.
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