Troy – Review

Troy’s credits say it is based on the epic poem by Homer (Iliad), however I think it also contains some of the Aeneid by Virgil also which shows the fall of Troy, as the Iliad ends before some of that plays out, and is fully focused on the wrath of Achilles. They used to teach these books in high school but who the hell knows what happens now.

3200 yeas ago, the King of Mycenae, Agamemnon (Cox), creates a rough alliance of Greece’s kingdoms by using his superior tactics, as well as the warrior Achilles (Pitt). Agamemnon’s brother over in Sparta, Menelaus (Gleeson), looks for a peace treaty with large power Troy as it is about all that can threaten Greece’s rise to power. Since these situations are usually diffused easily, I am sure we are in for a boring *checks runtime* three hours and sixteen minutes.

Some typical epic narration hypes up brave fighting and fierce loving. Armies march as Greece looks to conquer Thessaly. While Achilles is called to the battlefield, he is instead too busy snoozing. Finally, he faces off against a hulking mountain of a man in order to spare another battlefield full of bodies.

Thessaly falls to Agamemnon’s Greek alliance. But what about the power of Troy, with two princes Hector (Bana) and Paris (Bloom)? When they visit Sparta and abscond with Menelaus’ wife Helen (Kruger), historical shit is about to go down. If a battle begins, will Odysseus (Bean) have to get off his ass and rally his forces?

Troy covers a lot of the Iliad and some of the Aeneid, however it also removes the Gods’ direct interactions with men and influences over battles. For the most part it focuses instead on a more ‘grounded’ approach and shines its light on the men, with politics, battles and human drama driving it all. It works well enough, but fans of the book will find not having supernatural and godly elements changes its vibe a bit. Additionally, the script speeds up the entire war that lasted a decade or so and makes it feel like mere days/weeks.

Thankfully the cast is incredible and the production values are high. Those that like epic battles full of amazing costumes and large-scale armies will have a good time as this is enough to cover the basics and even do a few things quite well. I don’t love the final product based on a few changes from the book and some of it is a little too formulaic, but mostly it’s a fine watch and has grown a bit on me over the years. Just clear your calendar as it is long, with even the theatrical cut running two hours forty-three.

“This war will never be forgotten. Nor will the heroes that fight in it.”

The Director’s Cut for me is a superior watch and adds 30 minutes or so. This is quite a lot of additional material and scene edits, and impacts plenty of sub plots and character arcs. Some of it is subtle and some of it enhances the emotions. I would go with this one despite it soaking up more of your day.