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Got to see Troy today, at last, with my parents in tow. Here're my thoughts. Minor spoilers ahead; skip this if you don't feel like seeing them.
-- DON'T go into this one expecting it to be utterly faithful to Homer. There are quite a few deviations, although most anyone who's read the source material and seen the previews probably know that already. Homer was, however, above all else a storyteller...and so I think he would have approved of the changes made in the pursuit of superior storytelling onscreen.
-- Sean Bean, Peter O'Toole, and Eric Bana carried this film. It is their performances which make this an excellent movie instead of merely a good one. O'Toole in particular proves once again why he has been a master for decades. His performance as Priam is emotionally wrenching and the scene with him in Achilles' tent is one of the best in the film. Bean's role is small but he steals nearly every scene he's in (man, that voice!). And finally, Bana's Hector is at once the tender loving father and the battle-scarred veteran of a thousand fights.
-- Orlando Bloom -- okay, I gave him the benefit of the doubt as Legolas in the LOTR films because Legolas is INTENDED to be emotionally distant and very withdrawn, at least the way Jackson and company scripted the character. I even gave him the benefit of the doubt as Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean because it was his first role outside of LOTR and I thought he might have just been portraying a similarly flat character. But it's pretty clear that if a role requires emotional involvement, or really any depth of ANY kind, Bloom is, well, out of his depth.
-- Brad Pitt looks much less physically imposing than one would expect of the legendary Achilles. His "accent", when it was there at all, was so faint as to make me wonder why he bothered, and it came and went even more frequently than Mike Myers's in both Shrek films. He played the role very flat, only really seeming comfortable with it after Patroclus was slain. With all that said, I must say that I found him to be utterly believable as the perfect warrior. He quite obviously trained his ass off to get the physical side of the role down, and his sword- and spearplay looked fluid, natural, and effortless; he shifted combat styles and flowed so easily from one stance and form to another that it looked like a deadly dance. I had no trouble at all picturing him as someone who was born to fight and to kill.
-- Diane Kruger, while utterly beautiful as Helen, was given a very one-dimensional role. I don't know if it was the script or if she just couldn't do anything with what she was given, but there was virtually no chemistry between her and Orlando Bloom, or at least nothing close to the very obvious love between Hector and his wife.
-- Brian Cox was deliciously unpleasant as Agamemnon and Tyler Mane's nearly unstoppable Ajax was just the way I pictured the character.
-- The CGI and effects were very nicely done (love that aerial pan over the thousand ships!) and there were only two shots that jumped out at me, which (for a film with this many CGI shots) is pretty damn good.
Overall, I thought Troy was lots of fun and definitely worth your time and money. Go see it if you haven't already. It's one of those films that helps redefine the word "epic".
-- END OF LINE --
Currently playing: George Bellas -- Mind Over Matter. Bellas is one of those Bach-n'-roll players who loves sweep-picked arpeggios and classical-style compositions. Good stuff, although the frenetic pace does get wearying after a while.
-- DON'T go into this one expecting it to be utterly faithful to Homer. There are quite a few deviations, although most anyone who's read the source material and seen the previews probably know that already. Homer was, however, above all else a storyteller...and so I think he would have approved of the changes made in the pursuit of superior storytelling onscreen.
-- Sean Bean, Peter O'Toole, and Eric Bana carried this film. It is their performances which make this an excellent movie instead of merely a good one. O'Toole in particular proves once again why he has been a master for decades. His performance as Priam is emotionally wrenching and the scene with him in Achilles' tent is one of the best in the film. Bean's role is small but he steals nearly every scene he's in (man, that voice!). And finally, Bana's Hector is at once the tender loving father and the battle-scarred veteran of a thousand fights.
-- Orlando Bloom -- okay, I gave him the benefit of the doubt as Legolas in the LOTR films because Legolas is INTENDED to be emotionally distant and very withdrawn, at least the way Jackson and company scripted the character. I even gave him the benefit of the doubt as Will Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean because it was his first role outside of LOTR and I thought he might have just been portraying a similarly flat character. But it's pretty clear that if a role requires emotional involvement, or really any depth of ANY kind, Bloom is, well, out of his depth.
-- Brad Pitt looks much less physically imposing than one would expect of the legendary Achilles. His "accent", when it was there at all, was so faint as to make me wonder why he bothered, and it came and went even more frequently than Mike Myers's in both Shrek films. He played the role very flat, only really seeming comfortable with it after Patroclus was slain. With all that said, I must say that I found him to be utterly believable as the perfect warrior. He quite obviously trained his ass off to get the physical side of the role down, and his sword- and spearplay looked fluid, natural, and effortless; he shifted combat styles and flowed so easily from one stance and form to another that it looked like a deadly dance. I had no trouble at all picturing him as someone who was born to fight and to kill.
-- Diane Kruger, while utterly beautiful as Helen, was given a very one-dimensional role. I don't know if it was the script or if she just couldn't do anything with what she was given, but there was virtually no chemistry between her and Orlando Bloom, or at least nothing close to the very obvious love between Hector and his wife.
-- Brian Cox was deliciously unpleasant as Agamemnon and Tyler Mane's nearly unstoppable Ajax was just the way I pictured the character.
-- The CGI and effects were very nicely done (love that aerial pan over the thousand ships!) and there were only two shots that jumped out at me, which (for a film with this many CGI shots) is pretty damn good.
Overall, I thought Troy was lots of fun and definitely worth your time and money. Go see it if you haven't already. It's one of those films that helps redefine the word "epic".
-- END OF LINE --
Currently playing: George Bellas -- Mind Over Matter. Bellas is one of those Bach-n'-roll players who loves sweep-picked arpeggios and classical-style compositions. Good stuff, although the frenetic pace does get wearying after a while.