Troy.... am not impressed.

[roguem]

I think I have to stop watching movies, I haven't got a kick out of it in a long time, and "Troy" did nothing to change that.

It was an O.K. movie, but I didn't get emotionally involved in what happened, there was one scene toward the end where I started caring a little, but I'll write more about that in the spoiler section.

I didn't expect much, it was good, but I probably won't buy the DVD.

The battle scenes have been compared with LOTR, saying they're good, but doesn't come near to LOTR. This is true, they're good, but can't compare to LOTR.

The acting was good, Orlando wasn't as sucky as expected, but... lets say I was able to watch his scenes without giggeling... too much. :P
Brad Pitt was good, but it was hard to let go of the fact that he's Brad Pitt. In my eyes he's better suited to play contemporary roles, not historic ones.
Eric Bana did good, he's a good actor, and is still at that stage where he gives it his all, without going over the top.
Sean Bean, as good as ever.
Brian Cox, the man I love to hate... heh. Well, didn't really care until a point toward the end, but it's true; he really is a good psycho.
Of the main three females in this movie, it was Saffron Burrows that I liked the most. I've never liked her before, but I liked her in this movie.
It was nice to see Tyler Mane again, even though he didn't have much screen time.
Now the old squad, I  don't really have a clue. I don't feel like writing anymore, they were good.

I'll have to admit that I agree with some of the reviews I've read. This is a good movie, with a lot of really good shoots and scenes, but it lacks the emotion. The point where I started caring was just because it hit a personal aspect of my life, if that were not the case I doubt I would have gotten much out of it.

What gets me is that the guy who write the screenplay grew up with this story, and still they managed to turn in into a Hollywood thing.

Spoilers.

• First off I was really disappointed that Paris did not die in the movie, sorry, but I was looking forward to that.
• Hector's death, so sad. Didn't want him to die. When Achilles takes his body with him, dragging it behind his carriage... then Priam sneaks in to speak to Achilles and ask him to get his sons body back so he can give him a proper burial.
  Priam: I loved my son from the moment he opened his eyes until the moment you closed them.
  I liked that scene, that's where I started caring about Priam, and the future of Troy... how much was left of the movie at that point 30 mins?
• Paris killing Achilles... talk about a demeaning death. I'm pretty sure my reaction is based more on the fact that it was Orlando killing Brad that anything else.
• Briseis killing Agamemnon, that I liked. Even though it was rather simple.

Inconsistencies with the Illiad.

• The movie suggests that Troy was sacked about a month after the Greeks landed; Homer's "Illiad" has the siege lasting over ten years.
• Menelaus was not slain by Hector; he outlived him and was one of the soldiers in the Trojan Horse. He was eventually reunited with Helen and they apparently lived a happy life until his death in Sparta many years later.
• Agamemnon was not killed by Briseis at Troy; he survived and returned home only to be killed by his wife Clytaemnestra and her lover Aegisthus.
• Patroclus was not Achilles cousin he was just a close friend.
• Achilles was killed by a single arrow shot by Paris, way before the Greeks built the horse.
  Priam was killed by Neoptolemos, son of Achilles.
• Patrokles was deadly wounded by Euphorbos and Hector then cut his throat.
• Ajax was not killed by Hector, instead he committed suicide, after slaughtering a flock of sheep, which in a bout of madness he mistook for the Greeks that had refused him the armor of the dead Achilles.
• Paris died of a poisoned arrow shot by Philoket.
• Astyanax, son of Hector, was thrown to his death from the walls of Troy by the victorious Greeks.
• Andromache, wife of Hector, was taken as a slave by Neoptolemos.
• Aeneas was a son in law to King Priam and the second in command of the Trojan forces. So Paris asking him his name at the end of the movie is rather strange.

Can't come up with anything else right now... might write more later.

 

Just got this virus message... found it kind of amusing:
This alert is warning you about a possible remote access Trojan horse program. A Trojan horse program masquerades as a legitimate program and damages or compromises the security of your computer.
Some Trojan horse programs perform malicious actions on the computer on which they are run, while others, such as Back Orifice, provide remote-control capabilities for hackers.