dykstraNet

Rainy afternoons are good times to see movies. Unfortunately, I chose to see Troy on this rainy afternoon. This was a story “inspired by” Homer’s Iliad. But all the dialogue was pure Hollywood. Many of the speeches could have been cut and pasted from past hollywood “epics”. Especially hackneyed were the requisite motivational speeches delivered on horseback to soldiers before big battles.

This was like a Braveheart, Gladiator, and Lord of the Rings salad. Honestly, there must be only 10 or 12 actors in all of movie-land that are considered for armor-wearing roles. Perhaps there is some sort of union or something. If so, Orlando Bloom is definately a member, and apparently has a bow-and-arrow-clause in each of his contracts.

There is also some moaning middle-eastern woman who pockets some dough in every epic film to lay her wailing melody over the scenes of men fighting and dying. This gimmick was played-out after Gladiator used it to great affect.

The bottom line here is that Wolfgang Peterson fails to transport the viewer to ancient Troy. The whole time I’m thinking soundstage, costume, acting! acting! acting! I think the ripped, yet slight, Brad Pitt is miscast as the mighty warrior Achilles. The other actors don’t have a chance with the cheesy dialogue they have to deliver.

Glad I payed only the matinee rate of $6.50 for this one.

If you are not a teenage girl who loves Orlando Bloom and Brad Pitt and still liked this move, please leave a comment.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 16th, 2004 at 3:23 pm and is filed under Movie Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.