Director Wolfgang Petersen's \"Troy\" is in many ways a great, old-fashioned Hollywood epic. Inspired by Homer's \"The Iliad\" the film tells the classic story of the siege and ultimate fall of the ancient city of Troy, besieged as it was by the forces of a united Greece. The names of some of the classic characters will be familiar to many; Helen (rising German star Diane Kruger), whose decision to leave her husband (the King of Sparta) for Troy's young prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) has monumental repercussions; Achilles (Brad Pitt) the legendary warrior in search of his place in history; Hector (Eric Bana), the heir to the throne of Troy determined to defend his kingdom and Agamemnon (Brian Cox), the scheming King of a recently united Greece. Other familiar faces in the cast include an aged but impressive Peter O'Toole as the King of Troy, Brendan Gleeson as the dishonoured King of Sparta, and Sean Bean as Odysseus, the King of Ithaca who ultimately comes up with a cunning plan involving a giant wooden horse\u2026Not surprisingly, the film's style of dialogue (inspired as it is by an ancient Greek epic poem) takes a little getting used to and there is an overwhelming air of machismo present throughout. But within twenty minutes you are thoroughly drawn in. Director Petersen combines some truly stunning sets and spectacular battle scenes with state-of-the-art CGI effects that only occasionally intrude upon the narrative. The film's epic battle scenes are, on occasions, shockingly violent with battalions of soldiers seemingly covered in a mist of blood and gore, but it's to the credit of director Petersen and his leading men Brad Pitt and Eric Bana that the film's most memorable scene is their duel outside the gates of Troy, made all the more impressive by the fact that it was performed in its entirety by the actors themselves.Whilst scholars of ancient Greece might bemoan the film's occasional departure from its literary origins, film fans will be nothing but impressed with this movie, a spectacular blockbuster that has far more substance that many of its rivals this summer.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>","fnc":"googleTrackerHelper.doTrackPage( '\/'Troy-film_options~18773'\/Reviews\/ViewAll\/1' );"}