Let's tackle the elephant in the china closet why don't we. This movie has more good looking people in it than most of the other summer movies combined. Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eric Bana, Orlando Bloom, and carry it on down the line. To be an actor in this movie you have to be either hot (Brad Pitt), old (Peter O'Toole), or big and burly (Brendon Gleeson).

Brad Pitt's "Achilles" and Eric Bana's "Hector" were the glue that held this film together. When they were both on screen, they really held your attention. When they weren't on screen, you were wishing that they were.

I have never been a fan of Brad Pitt as an actor. I think that he's very capable, and there are certain roles that only he can do. But as an actor, I find his skills limited. But I can't imagine anyone else BUT Brad Pitt playing Achilles. Although his acting wasn't terrific, I don't think most people were paying attention. I'd guess that most people were either looking at his god given good looks, or his complete and total bad ass'ness on the battle field. The dude kicked major ass in every conceivable way. His fight with the giant at the beginning of the movie was just completely and totally brutal in it's swiftness.

oh...and his sex scene with Briseis was sizzling. Movies don't really have sex scenes anymore, I had kind of forgotten how steamy they could be. I kept wondering how far they were going to take it.

Eric Bana's Hector was the best part of this movie. I really thought that he showed all the right elements of what makes great warriors great, and what makes great warriors tragic. He walked that line perfectly.

Hector and Achilles climactic battle may be one of the greatest sword fights ever put on film. It completely showed just how brutal that fighting must have been, while being just a completely exciting show of swordsmanship. The trick to a good sword fight in my eyes, is making it brutal, but also making it entertaining. If Lucas even gets a tenth of how great this sword fight is for Episode III, I'll be one happy geek. Another way to ensure a good fight, is to have a good build up to the fight. If you can build and build and build towards the fight, the fight then becomes the icing on the cake. This movie did that perfectly. My only complaint with the build up is that EVERYONE who talked to Hector just up and assumed that he was going to lose the battle. Show a little confidence in your horse why don't you.

My favorite thing about 'Troy' was that the most intelligent and knowledgable people in the movie were the soldiers. Especially Hector and Achilles. They both knew more about the futility of their actions, and the pointlessness of it all, that you wonder why their leaders didn't listen to them more often. Everytime the leaders of Greece (Agamemnon) and the leader of Troy (Priam) would ask for advice, the soldiers would give the exact right answer of what should be done. Usually in futile.

Orlando Bloom's Paris could be seen as a bit of a wuss I suppose. But I also kind of saw him as a creature of circumstance. In any other given timeframe, Paris would have been a hippy or something like that. All he wanted was just to live life, make love, and not have to worry about the consequences. Paris was probably the most relatable person in the movie. I can't relate to Achilles. I can't relate to Hector on the level of him being a great warrior. But I can relate to Paris just wanting to be with the person he loves, come hell or high water. He kind of chickened out of a fight that he had already started, but in my eyes, he was the type of person who should have never been fighting in the first place.

Diane Kruger as Helen was "okay" I guess. They didn't give her much to do, except look over the wall and watch the action from afar. I would have liked to have seen more substance to her part.

Did I mention that the movie wears it's anti-war sentiments on it's sleeve. I found many instances in the movie that pertained directly to our current and recent conflicts that we find our country in. That this movie is anti-war is not surprising. At their core, both "The Illiad" and "The Odyssey" are about the futility of warfare. Sure there's guts and glory to be found, but you may lose your soul in the process.

Speaking of Homer, I don't really have a problem so much with how this movie changed some important information around. But every so often, the English major in me would cringe when something didn't play out the way it did in either "The Illiad," "The Odyssey," or Virgil's "The Aeneid." Speaking of "The Aeneid," the movie didn't give credit where credit was due. I COULD be wrong on this, but the most detailed account of the Trojan horse took place in the Aeneid. They may have briefly mentioned it in Homer's works, but the most detailed account was by far in Virgil's "The Aeneid." So every so often, the English major in me would kick into overdrive.

Overall a pretty decent movie. As far as a sandals and swords movie, it had pretty much everything that I'm looking for. It had brutal action, engaging dialogue, interesting themes, good acting, and iconic images. Not the best epic ever made, but not everything can be Lord of the Rings.

Which reminds me...Peter Jackson made the "Lord of the Rings" movies for about 90 million dollars each. "Troy" cost 200 million dollars and I'm still trying to figure out where that extra money went. There wasn't anything in "Troy" that even approached the brilliance of any of the "Lord of the Rings" movies. Oh well.

Good time at the movies. Not as good as "Gladiator" though, but what is.

matt out