Flave

While I disagree with your review of the movie, I'm in full agreement with this observation. Actually, I kept switching between Monica Bellucci and Rachel Weisz (from The Mummy). If those two had a daughter (hey, it could happen), she would look exactly like Rose Byrne.

Terrell

I agree with your review, but I'm astounded by this statement. Orlando Bloom's performance, or lack thereof, was abysmal. Bloom just can't act to save his soul. He was bearable in LOTR mainly because he only spoke once every 20 minutes, and even then it was one or two lines of dialogue. The guy just can't act. Even in Pirates of the Carribean, he wasn't good. He was able to get by without too much criticism simply because the film was entertaining and the rest of the cast turned in solid performances.

As for Brad Pitt, I've never been impressed by his acting ability. He's pretty good in the right role, but you compare him to someone like Russell Crowe, and he comes up way short. In Troy, Pitt didn't do any acting. He basically posed throughout the entire film. Every shot he looked like he was trying to make sure the camera was filming his good side.

C- at best for this film.

LorenzoL

I can't believe it either that I actually didn't mind his performance as much as other aspects of the movie. Well, it's a little scary thinking about it but its true.

LorenzoL

Well, never thought of Rachel Weisz but now that you mentioned it, I can see the resemblance.

When she first appeared in the movie, I was wondering why all the media forgot to state that Bellucci was in the movie

Ky-Fi

In short, I loved it, and enjoyed it immensely more than Gladiator. I felt that Gladiator was a sillier movie that took itself much too seriously, whereas Troy was a bit lighter and sharper.

I liked that there were no cartoonishly evil villains, and I generally believed the motivations of all the characters. I liked the fact that the gore was not excessive. There was some great fight choreography, particularly the last Hector/Achilles fight. Nice cast of supporting actors. I had to chuckle throughout at Pitt's Achilles----the uber-male superhero---sure it was kind of silly and overtly homoerotic, but it was still a lot of fun. I don't know, just the pacing, story and overall tone really worked for me---this is exactly what I want in a B-movie sword-and-sandal epic.

movielib

Sure I thought of Cassandra, the Apple of Discord, all sorts of things that were changed in the movie. One thing was that Peterson was obviously leaving out any actual supernatural and mythical elements (although people talked about the gods a lot, there was never any actual interfering by them or outright evidence they existed at all). Cassandra with her gift of prophecy but curse that no one would ever believe her is clearly a supernatural element that was jettisoned for that reason. While I have no problem seeing the story with its supernatural, mythical elements intact, I enjoyed seeing it told in this different way also.

Other nonsupernatural changes were plentiful (I just spent about a half hour enumerating them for my wife). But the story still made sense and was extremely entertaining. But with all the changes I'm glad the credit said "Inspired by the Iliad" rather than "Based on the Iliad."

All in all, a rousing picture whose 2:43 time seemed more like 2:00. I liked it more than Gladiator (which I did like).

I do think Brad Pitt was miscast although he did his best in the wrong role.

***½/****.

(I haven't read the whole thread so if I repeated something others have said, I apologize.)

Geofferson

I agree as this was my biggest beef with this film. It was too much of a Brad Pitt vehicle that the movie suffered from it. Too much Brad (and thus too much fluff) and too little substance.

I give it 2 stars or a C.

Dr. DVD

Saw it yesterday afternoon. Great eye candy, but little more. It's obvious the filmmakers knew they weren't making an Oscar worthy flick in terms of acting or picture. WB also seems to have accepted that they will have to wait until overseas profits roll in before the film turns anything.
That said, I really would love to see a version of The Odyssey with Sean Bean as the lead. In fact, I would say Wolfgang Peterson is better suited for that kind of movie than one of the Iliad.

B.A.

fixed.

Rivero

Unfortunately I'm sure the makers of Troy were shooting for A-film quality.

Fincher Fan

After watching this movie, there's only one person who could play Skeletor if they made a new Masters of the Universe movie: Saffron Burrows.

greg9x

Just got back from seeing it... Overall B-, Too much "Look at how epic this movie is." scenes that seemed to drag it down. Interesting how they portrayed the hero's without the supernatural powers.
CGI was really bad in Achilles first kill (the audience thought the move was cool, but the fakeness of the CGI took away from the effect for me) and the 1000 ships sailing looked like something out of the 60's, they weren't even moving across the water just fake water breaking on the bow.
Went with a female friend and she enjoyed the Brad Pitt show... agree that the Helen scenes were a bit of a tease for the guys.
With Sean Bean and Orlando Bloom (especially with him shooting arrows) the movie felt kind of LOTRish.
Won't see a second time in theater, will see how I feeel when the DVD comes out.

Frank TJ Mackey

haven't read the entire thread, but i do know that the Pitt/Bana fight was filmed about a year after the film started due to Pitt's injury.

if you notice then, that Bana appears much much bigger physically, i'm sure he worked his butt off after seeing how fit Brad Pitt was, and seeing as how he had many months to get in better shape, it was just odd.

Kal-El

Saw it on Friday night and I was disappointed considering the source material and the potential of what they could have done to it.

Rose Byrne (Priseis) was the best part for me. I thought she was a thousand times more beautiful than Helen.

suziq999

Tell me you're kidding. I'll take him over Brad Pitt any day. He's a hot potato.

Josh H

I saw this Saturday and loved it.

I thought all the performances were solid. The battle scenes were great. I really liked the look of the film as well. With all the brown tones and what not, it really gave it an "ancient" feel. The sound was great as well, I really liked the fight between Paris and the other guy, no music, just the loud clangs of sword and shield and sword on sword. Awesome.

The only thing I didn't like was the score. It just didn't seem to fit the movie at times, and as such was distracting.

bigdawgx

I thought the movie was OK...entertaining but pretty corny.

Making Patroclus a "cousin" and removing the wrath of Apollo were pretty weak moves in my opinion.

Also, did the 1v1 fight scenes look like a SoulCalibur trailer to anyone else?

jaeufraser

I enjoyed Troy. Granted, it's no masterpiece, it's kind of sloppy, isn't really emotionally involving, but it was a fun and entertaining 2 hours and 45 minutes. Overall, I was impressed, escpecially by the enormity of the production, but I must say the music annoyed the hell out of me. HOrner's music just kinda sucked...the woman not so much, but his annoying use of horns and repeat usage of themes froms myriads of other films. I looked in and found out Gabriel Yared like...wrote a whole score for this movie. http://www.gabrielyared.com/flashsite/index2.htm go to this site, under news he's got his score there. I kinda wish they had used that on the movie. Oh well.

Anyways, good fun. I did think the Hector Achilles fight was kick ass.

Rivero

I WISH the one-on-one fight scenes looked as cool as in Soul Caliber.

DonnachaOne

The funny thing is, in her next movie, Wicker Park, she plays a woman obsessed with a character played by Diana "Helen Of Troy" Kruger!

diesteldorf

Can anyone explain what the "Lifetime Achievement Award" fiasco was last year?

mllefoo

Hell, I'd take Peter O'Toole over Brad Pitt any day, and he's older than dirt.

I've been studying this whole Orlando Bloom thing and I've narrowed his acting to one facial expression: the concerned wrinkle between the eyebrows on a doe caught in the headlights look.

It's really quite effective.

MrX

I just saw it tonight.

I enjoyed it. I'm glad it didn't feel like a 2:45 movie.

I don't really have anyhting to say that hasn't all ready been said. I thought Bana and O'Toole did very good jobs and Bloom was terrible.

I'm a fan of Brad Pitt, but didn't care for him in this.

I'd give it a B+

Penny Lane

Peter O'Toole and Eric Bana

I really disliked the fact that Briseis had such a huge part in this film. In The Iliad, of course, she serves simply as a catalyst for Achilles' anger with Agamemnon. Here she's incorporated so that people will have something pretty to look at--a diversion that I think throws off the whole film from the course it should be taking. I really hate the way Achilles chases after her in the end--it makes him look weak as a warrior and is in fact why he's shot in the ankle by Paris. Also, I don't think Briseis is even from Troy. Best I recall, she's from a city that just happens to be allies with Troy.

Ugh. I guess I just find it insulting that so many of these big Hollywood films add all the unnecessary love scenes in movies just to get the big box office draw.

Patman

I think the film plays better if you treat the story from the film an an attempt to tell of a "true" story that inspired "The Iliad" and the other works of Homer, and it was Homer that ran with the story to construct his own tale, adding in all the details/relationships of the gods to balance out a grander story.