Film: Troy (2004)

Troy has all the elements of an epic flim with one exception, emotion. Epics like Braveheart, Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, and Ben-Hur (1959) all make the audience connect with the main characters and feel for them. Troy, unfortunately, fails to make the audience feel. This movie was inspired by the story The Illiad written by Homer. With such a grand story, it was a challenge for the flim makers to develop each character fully to establish that emotional connection with the audience in 3 hours. There were simply too many main characters within the story. Perhaps the movie should have been broken into 2 or 3 parts. Then again, with so many movies out these days in multiple parts, it was nice to see the complete story in one viewing.
Brad Pitt did an excellent job as Achilles. Pitt has proven himself as a diverse actor from his performances in Snatch, Fight Club, 12 Monkeys, to Troy. Eric Bana from Black Hawk Down was also wonderful portraying Hector. However, Orlando Bloom as Paris and Diane Kruger as Helen were disappointing. Orlando Bloom lacks the experience as an actor. He was great in Lord of the Rings since he barely spoke. He was also decent in Black Hawk Down because he did not speak much. Bloom's acting in Pirates of Carribean and Troy demonstrated his lack of range as an actor when he has to carry on a dialogue. And for the film makers to pair Orlando Bloom with yet another inexperienced actor Diane Kruger as the crucial couple that triggered the whole story was just very disappointing. The love scenes between Bloom and Kruger were laughable.
Julian Glover (Triopas) and Brian Cox (Agamemnon) are excellent actors who will be remembered for the works they have done before and after Troy but not for it. This flim has so much potential with its incredible cast of Pitt, Bana, Glover, and Cox. As I mentioned earlier, the ultimate downfall of this film is its lack of time spent on each character to allow these seasoned actors to truly portray and deliver the emotions to the audience.
Overall, it is almost an epic feature that is worth the viewing on the big screen especially for the battle and fight sequences. It could have been so much better if it just makes the audience feel. This flim is certainly more of a visual treat rather than one that is for the soul.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10
Official Troy Site by Warner Brothers
IMDB's Troy Page
(Picture from Warner Brothers)