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| Sex and Sandles John Hiscock reviews the first screening of the eagerly awaited blockbuster Troy The first thing to be said about Troy, the £150 million sword-and-sandal epic very loosely based on Homer’s Iliad, is that it is big. It is big in action, scope and emotions and, for sheer spectacle, comes close to justifying the enormous amount of money spent on it. But a satisfactory tribute to the sandy sagas of the 1950s – and for all its special effects and spectacular battle scenes, Troy is reminiscent of much that has gone before – needs an actor with the presence of a Richard Burton to carry off the limp and clichéd dialogue. Unfortunately Brad Pitt does not quite fit the bill. Although he looks the part, with a shoulder-length mane of blond hair and a winning way with enemy princesses, he cannot make the often portentous lines ring true. Troy is the Warner Bros contribution to the spate of historical epics that began with Gladiator and is due to continue with King Arthur, two Alexander the Great projects, Boadicea and several more. The film focuses on the siege of Troy by the Greek armies after the Trojan prince Paris steals the beautiful Helen from King Menelaus, the brother of the Greek king Agamemnon. After landing on the Troy beaches, the Greeks are repelled by the Trojans but, following a series of bloody battles – almost as an afterthought – the wooden horse is wheeled out to smuggle the Greeks into the city, which is duly burnt. As Achilles, an almost invincible super-hero who operates with an elite band of warriors on the fringe of the Greek army, Pitt spends much of the early part of the film brooding on the sidelines as the armies battle it out. It is only when his cousin is killed by Paris’s brother Hector that he unleashes himself on the Trojans. Audiences who enjoyed the protracted battles of the Lord of the Rings trilogy will revel in the visionary magic the filmmakers have used to show the brutal scenes of two fabled armies fighting with spears, swords and bows and arrows. But it is not all blood and gore. In between battles Pitt is given plenty of opportunity to display his brawny physique in nude sex scenes, principally with the Trojan princess Briseis, played by the Australian actress Rose Byrne. Although Pitt is unquestionably the star, that other young heartthrob, Orlando Bloom, who worked in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is also in the cast to lure the younger female audience as the lovesick Paris, the son of King Priam of Troy. While one can easily imagine his Paris stealing the beautiful Helen away from Menelaus, it is more difficult to believe him as a Trojan warrior waging serious battle. A pumped-up Eric Bana, last seen as the alter ego of The Incredible Hulk, is a credible Hector and newcomer Diane Kruger shines as Helen. The director, Wolfgang Petersen, has wisely crammed his supporting cast with fine actors, including Brendan Gleeson, Sean Bean, Brian Cox and a magnificently dignified Peter O’Toole as the tragic Priam. Julie Christie makes a two-minute appearance as Achilles’ mother, Thetis. One particular scene, when Priam goes to Achilles’ tent to plead for the return of his son Hector’s body after Achilles has slain him, has an emotional resonance lacking in the rest of the film and it makes one realise what a fine Achilles Peter O’Toole would have made 40 years ago. |
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| While one can easily imagine his Paris stealing the beautiful Helen away from Menelaus, it is more difficult to believe him as a Trojan warrior waging serious battle. |