Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Brad Pitt's a good actor. But he's only a good actor when he's in easier territory that he can navigate. Ocean's Eleven, Twelve Monkeys, and Fight Club is where he shows his strengths as an actor. In all three films, Pitt plays a bad boy but one that you can't help but like. That is where his charisma lies. But watching Pitt not play a bad boy, and you may begin to lose interest in his performance as an actor. With Troy, the heartthrob tries to straddle the two: with mixed results.

It's not entirely Pitt's fault, but unfortunately a lot of it seems like it is. There's a lot riding on his shoulders and watching him play Achilles, is like having someone try to figure out complex math problems. It just can't happen, and that happens with Pitt as Achilles. His interpretation of the legendary Greek figure seems dull and stilted. One critic described his performance as being a Bronze age rock star, and that fittingly is the actor's title. But while a rock star can groove to the music, Pitt's on total auto pilot. It's as if to say he captures the total essence of Achilles with his outsider I'm smarter than you so I'm above you attitude, but Pitt never seems to capture anything else around Achilles like his personality, his energy, and worse of all: conviction with which Pitt doesn't know how to say the lines like he really means it. Like said, he's great at playing bad boys but when he has to play a hero figure, he's going to have a little trouble saying his lines.

Troy is a retelling of the historical siege of Troy, when Prince Paris stole Helen away from her husband Menelaus, she was the face that launched a thousand ships. As played by attractive actress Diane Kruger, maybe she could've launched a thousand acting lessons. It's not that she's bad either, but she doesn't provide enough punch or charm to make you believe Helen. Kruger seems as if she's also on auto pilot. But like Pitt, she's not entirely to blame. Even legendary co-star Peter O'Toole called director Wolfgang Peterson a clown. Peterson himself is a good director but this is one movie that seems to be out of his reach.

If you look at much of Peterson's work, which are for the most part, big budget action movies. They all take place with a core group of people, like Air Force One had Harrison Ford as a US President, his family, and his cabinet versus Russian terrorists who have hijacked the title plane. The Perfect Storm had George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg as part of a small fishing crew caught up in an extraordinary storm. In The Line of Fire had Clint Eastwood versus John Malkovich. Much of Peterson's framework is about a small group of people fighting an injustice such as the villain. None of them have their own stories, subplots, or desire because all the groups of characters in each of his work, often contain the same universal desire. For example, The Perfect Storm had the fishing crew just wanting to make a lot of cash. Air Force One was about people trying to save their lives. In The Line of Fire was just about a man trying to stop an assassin. Troy, however, falls out of that category because since it's such a historical story, there are a lot of people and storylines to contend with.

One of the character desires is of Paris (Orlando Bloom), a prince new to the world who hasn't quite gained his courage in how to become a warrior. Basically, Paris tries to step up for his woman but finds himself cut down. Another desire is Hector (a remarkable Eric Bana) being drawn farther into the battle of Trojans vs. Greeks, all of it in a bid to save his own brother's life as a good sibling. Another desire is Achilles wrestling with the very fact that his legacy may be sealed with his death if he chooses to participate in the fight. These seem to be the three chief desires of which there are many more, and as a result, the story tends to swagger and lose interest.

Screenwriter David Benioff's only credit was The 25th Hour before he wrote Troy, but he seems way off here. Much of Troy is mired in contemporary dialogue, as most historical films are these days. Basically, it's a modern retelling of the story of Troy. Seriously though, the dialogue is excused because no one wants to have to decipher Shakespeare when they can just watch O'Neill. The dialogue isn't clunky per se, but it's the actual sequences that don't really lead up to much of a story and they don't for a good portion of the film. Only after halfway, does the story start to catch up and Achilles becomes involved.

It's a good thing Troy has actors like Peter O'Toole and Brian Cox, because their presence makes the film interesting. O'Toole as Priam delivers a melancholy performance and watching the actor really provide the full gusto he has always given in a performance, reminds you why he's such a great actor. There's nothing more heartbreaking than Hector's death, and Priam (the father) witnessing it with tears rolling down his eyes and a gaping mouth. Not to diverge from a focus, but Troy does pull at the heartstrings as one of the central themes is about fathers and sons. But O'Toole never fails to deliver as an actor, even if he's in the worst of films, he's always going to be great. Brian Cox is memorable at the film's heavy Agamemnon. I'm no expert to Greek mythology, which I do find interesting. But didn't Agamemnon suffer a different fate than he did in this film if I can recall. I don't want to reveal what happened to him in what I read. Anyway, Cox is always a character actor to watch. You can't get a better bad guy than he to play. Like Claudius in Hamlet, Agamemnon is a sinister bad guy who sits at his throne while others lose their lives to his ruthlessness. He's arrogant, destructive, and worst of all: insecure because he has one dependent but ultimately unstable element: Achilles. Achilles, as it seems, has an antagonistic relationship with Agamemnon that is coming to a boiling point.

Orlando Bloom is a relatively decent actor, but this is a crowded show and he seems more like just an addition than a main character. Paris seems like a plot device than someone of immense importance. Bloom tries to develop the character as much as he can, but in a crowded cast, it's very hard to establish yourself. Aside from the story, I thought Paris would be kind of arrogant and cocky, but through the actor's interpretation, he's a decent person and a remarkably naive one trying to prove himself an honorable man. If anything, Bloom manages to get that message through as clearly as possible. Watching Brendan Gleeson as Menelaus is a real treat, although he's only in the film for halfway. The character actor is quite adept at playing a civilized savage brute, but under David Benioff's writing, you can't completely justify Menelaus' rage for wanting to murder his runaway spouse, Helen. He's even worse than what Paris has done to him and you'll see that soon enough.

An eye catching performance is from Eric Bana, an amazingly self taught actor who captures the kind of internal torment a caring brother could have. Bana's Hector is like a maze of twisted emotions: a caring father and brother who knows he's stuck in a war of right and wrong. He's forced to live with the actions he must commit in a bid to save his brother's life. It's a shame Bana doesn't get to do more movies that are good like Black Hawk Down, as he was in the abysmal Hulk. For all it's worth, Bana delivers the most human performance and I found myself tearing up at the inevitability of him losing his life. There's nothing sadder than seeing him slayed in front of his entire family.

Once again, Brad Pitt is a good actor, but he seems out of his element. I was rooting for Achilles to bite the bullet under Paris' arrows. It seems that Achilles character change was buried under the story, which is perhaps slightly more important. The only change in Achilles comes in the final moments as he loses his life, to get back the woman (a weakly written Rose Byrne) he has fallen in love with. For anyone whose a Julie Christie fan, she's got a bit part that can be described more as a cameo than anything else, as Achille's mother. It's refreshing to see the English actress appear in this film, as a wise woman aware of her son's fate, but she's not in the movie for much longer than a cameo.

The production design is gorgeous, although very clean as it is in all Hollywood movies. The CGI is somewhat excessive (like a shot of the thousand ships), but the sets built are quite a visual feast. Looking at the city of Troy, you wish you could actually get a better glimpse of Trojan life, but for an almost three hour movie, you can only get to the story. This is one of the problems I had with Troy, was the actual way of life portrayed. Peterson and Benioff try to capture as much as they can, but usually it's related to war. Granted, it is a war film but it would've been more interesting to see how Greeks and Trojans lived during those days, but alas, that is neglected. The dining rooms, king thrones, and other parts are really impressive to look at. The costume design is impeccable and you can sees those millions of dollars on screen for every extra wielding a sword and armor.

For action aficionados, the action doesn't stop and they try to put in as much as they can. From battles at the gates of Troy, to the Greeks camp outside the city. They put as much as they can in. The fight at the Greeks camp is somewhat of a haze as it takes place at dawn, but it's interesting to see how Peterson coordinates the carnage in a haze of smoke and dark light. But rather than that, Peterson delivers a vapid film. The sheer breathtaking scope is somewhat of a feast because it's a big budget epic in the tradition of Ben Hur. But Troy seems to lack heart, which is very important when making a film of this size. It's like someone whose only half succeeded and didn't pull off what he wanted to do fully. For example, the climax is of course, the Trojan horse which is more like the whip cream on top of an ice cream. Given the length, the horse sequence isn't as impressive as it should be and since it's a PG-13 movie, there isn't as much carnage portrayed as the historical times were much more brutal than what celluloid can portray. So there's a real minimum of blood although a high body count.

I would call Troy an impressive epic scale movie, that's different from director Peterson's work. But Troy is no Braveheart or Gladiator (it's PG-13), because it seems to lack the kind of conviction or heart that a sand and sandals epic would command. Troy has a lot to take in through characters, each with their own individual desires, while there also happens to be a war which also adds to a complicated plot. Millions of dollars are up there on screen, but it would've been great if you could see heart up on screen as well.

Recommended: No

Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older