Troy

It-boy Brad Pitt acquits himself rather respectably in this massive retelling of the Iliad, courtesy of director Wolfgang Petersen. That the picture looks great goes without saying; Petersen is nothing if not a master technician (and they spent boatloads of money). But we all know that a big budget guarantees nothing (see “Van Helsing” below), so it came as something of a relief that the picture maintains drive and focus throughout, despite its length and gargantuan scale. There are a few moments that drag, but Petersen and writer David Benioff (not to mention Homer, of course) manage to keep us interested in the characters and the conflicts, even though we know how the story is going to end. Pitt plays the über -warrior Achilles, and he captures the petulance and arrogance of the hero quite well. Only in the scenes when he tries to inspire the troops does he fail to convince (I have to admit that a few twitters were heard in the audience during these moments), but as a sullen superstar (which is what Achilles was) he is exceptionally good. He makes up in athleticism and commitment what he lacks in gravitas. Luckily the gravitas is supplied by some of the excellent supporting players, including Eric Bana as Hector, Sean Bean as Odysseus, and Peter O'Toole as Priam. I am a bit out of touch with the source text, and I am fairly certain that they have taken some liberties with the story (wasn't Achilles bitten by a scorpion?), but Petersen and co. adhere to the spirit of the poem, and the movie, almost in spite of itself, achieves a kind of epic grandeur.