Troy: Three Thumbs Up
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| Troy Movie photo courtesy IMDb |
“Do you know what’s there waiting beyond that beach? Immortality! Take it! It’s yours!” As a youngster I remember hearing my Step-Dad saying this at the beginning of his rugby matches. Actually, he would substitute something like “Do you know what’s there waiting on the other side of the pitch? Immortality! Take it! It’s yours!”. Both sides would chuckle or scoff, as my Step-Dad drop kicked the ball and the game would ensue. He was always (and still does), saying this or other quotes. At the time I was too young to watch or even know that this particular quote was from the 2004 movie Troy.
Recently I sat down with my Step-Dad as he was watching the movie (for the 50th time at least, according to him) and I really enjoyed it! So, I decided to watch it again and write this review. The movie “Troy” is based on the legendary war between the Greeks and the Trojans from hallowed antiquity. It has some eternally famous characters the likes of Achilles, Odysseus, Helen… formerly of Sparta, the Trojan princes Hector and Paris, Patroclus (Achilles’ cousin or possibly lover?), Menelaus, and Agamemnon who was the main bad guy! And of course the movie features the world famous Trojan Horse. I am somewhat familiar with the historic story/legend the Iliad, which the Trojan War is a part of, but not enough to comment on the accuracy of this Hollywood version, but it appears that the director took artistic and creative liberties. However, I for one am okay with this, as I found the movie to be engaging from beginning to end!
An aspect of the movie I appreciated was how it flirted with the supernatural and the ancient Greek gods, yet it did not go overboard with super powers or magic. In a memorable scene a young boy is assisting Achilles with his armor and states something along the lines of “I heard you are an immortal” and Achilles replies with something along the lines of “Well I wouldn’t be bothering with the armor then would I”. As you may or may not know, Achilles was supposedly dipped in the River Styx as an infant by his mother, which made him invulnerable to physical injury, except for his heel which is what she was holding him by. This is where we get the expression “Achilles’ heel”. Another example of almost supernatural abilities is Achilles ability with a spear. He is incredibly talented when it comes to casting a spear, to the unfortunate demise of many a Trojan warrior. Oh, and his sword play isn’t bad either.
I would like to say that the movie has a classic beginning, some sort of conflict and a happy ending with the good guys coming out on top… but it is not nearly that simple. There are times when you want some of the good guys to shut up and/or die, and there are also times where you have a knot in your throat as a bad guy dies. I am not going to give away any spoilers. However, the following is a partial list of some things from the movie that I found appealing and or memorable:
- Mediterranean blue waters and sandy beaches
- Epic battle scenes
- Just as epic quotes
- Well-developed characters and a plausible story line
- Belly dancing
- One thousand ancient Greek ships
- Myrmidons
- The Trojan Horse
- Brad Pitt’s butt
- A star studded cast including, as previously mentioned, Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana, Diane Kruger, Sean Bean (yes, winter IS coming), Diane Kruger, Brian Cox, Brandon Gleeson, and James Cosmo. Oh, and did I mention the late Sir Peter Seamus O’Toole?
- I have to mention Nathan Jones and Tyler Mane who played minor but important roles as Boagrius and Ajax the Great respectfully. Either of them could give Dwayne The Rock Johnson a run for his money if they got into a thumb wrestling match… just sayin’.
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