Troy ★★½ 2004 (R) Petersen's epic telling of the Trojan War finally hit the screen after many delays (including Pitt injuring his Achilles tendon, oh the irony!) and budget-busting incidents. Merely inspired by Homer's "The Iliad," it dispenses with all those pesky Greek gods and makes it all about the warriors. When beautiful Helen (Kruger) flees her Spartan husband Menaleus (Gleeson) with pretty-boy lover Paris (Bloom), her greedy brother-in-law Agamemnon (Cox) decides Troy's wealth is worth a little fighting. Arrogant Achilles (Pitt) is persuaded to join in, and while Paris is no fighter, big brother Hector (Bana) is. Naturally, Achilles and Hector will have to go mano-a-mano (in one of the film's best scenes). Also around to show those youngsters what acting's all about is O'Toole as aging King Priam. It's all handled professionally but it's just not terribly compelling. 162m/C DVD. GB Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Eric Bana, Peter O'Toole, Diane Kruger, Brendan Gleeson, Brian Cox, Sean Bean, Julian Glover, Julie Christie, Saffron Burrows, John Shrapnel, James Cosmo, Rose Byrne, Garrett Hedlund, Nathan Jones, Vincent Regan, Trevor Eve, Tyler Mane;
Director:
Wolfgang Petersen;
Writer:
David Benioff;
Writer:
Roger Pratt;
Cameo:
James Horner.
