Troy (2004) Dir: Wolfgang Petersen

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When one considers the word 'epic', in the context of cinema, it feels natural to think of the grand historical retellings and expansive fantasies, usually the ones based on great works of classic and ancient literature. Wolfgang Petersen's 2004 depiction of The Trojan War, based on Homer's 'The Iliad', very much falls under this banner.

I was concerned about the near three hour runtime, but the film's pacing was just about immaculate. There was a flow and a consistency to the way the film unfolded which made it very digestible. It certainly helped my engagement that this had such a massive scale to it. The sets, with the help of some green screen and CGI, were vast, the battles were intense, and the imagery was, of course, steeped in centuries of aura. It's the kind of film you just know Ridley Scott wished he could've directed.

The battles themselves were huge in scope, but it was the one-on-one duels that were the jewel in this film's action-heavy crown. The choreography for these was slick, intense, and fast-paced, which helped give each one a heightened sense of urgency and threat. I even found myself rooting for characters, even though I knew their fates already.

The film wasn't perfect, by any means. I thought that the soundtrack was fairly bland and forgettable, and, more significantly, the female characters were so bland. Try as their actors might, they could not make their characters seem like more than metaphors for their respective love interest's vulnerabilities.

The narrative, unsurprisingly, was a Greek tragedy in every sense of the phrase. It was an absurdly homoerotic, tragic and, at times, brutal film. I know that the story streamlines and alters Homer's original tale, and changes the nature of some of the character relationships and portrayals, though, to someone who didn't know 'The Iliad', I don't think it would impact their enjoyment that much.

I loved that the film gave the audience glimpses of other parts of Homer and Ancient Greece's expansive mythology, whilst depicting the story of one of Homer's most famous works. The film's brutal end was both appropriate and effective, making for a dramatic and tragic ending. The divergences from the text may be irritating, but they don't cripple the film's entertainment value.

Of the expansive and hugely acclaimed cast, the three lead actors took up the vast majority of the film's runtime, and gave performances of varying quality. Brad Pitt, as I have said before, is very good at playing horrible men in protagonist roles. This was another example of this habit - his character just comes across as a nasty person, and Pitt seemed to revel in it.

Orlando Bloom was, unfortunately, very dull and emotionless. This lack of emotion would serve him much better in 2005's 'Kingdom of Heaven', where his character was supposed to be a bit more stoic, but in this film he just came across as if he were made of wood. It was really quite disappointing, considering how the film was evidently trying to portray his character.

Eric Bana was the most valuable player of this film by some distance, at least for my money. He clearly fully committed to the emotions and the tragedy of his character, and it really showed. He was easily the most likable actor, and character, in the whole film, quite comfortably too. His acting felt grounded and believable, and his personality felt very endearing.

Of the extensive and talented supporting cast, both Brian Cox and Sean Bean stood out for their respective performances, though I also thought that the likes of Brendan Gleeson, Diane Kruger, Rose Byrne, Peter O'Toole, and Saffron Burrows also deserved mentions for their positive acting displays.

Overall, whilst it certainly had its detracting factors, this was most definitely a film deserving of the 'epic' moniker. In some ways, it felt akin to the epics of the mid to late 20th Century, though perhaps it fell short of some of those film's overall quality. Regardless, the film was pretty easy to sit through, and was full of really decent action sequences.