Troy

On Saturday, Francesca and I wanted to relax. We had biked with Mike and Alexandra and loaded up on Red Mill Burgers, so I suggested we see a movie. But a search of what was currently playing proved fruitless - every movie out that we hadn't seen looked horrible. Netflix is cool but doesn't satisfy the "see a movie immediately" requirement, so we went to Hollywood Video.

After checking out what was available, I suggested Troy. I was sure I saw a moment of glee in Francesca's eyes but she hid it well. ;) It came down to that or Meet the Fockers and I went with Troy.

A plot summary would be pointless because surely everybody has heard of the Trojan War. Or read The Iliad. I hope it isn't a spoiler to mention the Greeks snuck into Troy by hiding inside a giant statue of a horse they built? ;)

Instead, I'll comment on the fighting. I understand that Brad Pitt worked out for months for this role: weight lifting and weapons practice. Well it paid off because I thought the fight scenes were really well done. He fights in a "god like" fashion (after all he is Achilles) which comes down to being faster and stronger than his opponent. The long one-on-one battle with Hector (Eric Bana) was a treat, it started with shields and spears and eventually was sword versus sword. You could see Hector knows he doesn't have a chance but he can't be a coward like his brother Paris (Orlando Bloom). So he fights and is methodically out maneuvered until he falls.

Achilles is substantially arrogant, self-centered, and definitely has a "what's in it for me" attitude. Sean Bean plays Odysseus, who has a small role in Troy - he is the only other Greek that Achilles respects and listens too. Achilles doesn't think much at all of the Greek King Agamemnon, and basically doesn't care what the King has to say.

Overall I really enjoyed Troy. I'm sure students of the classics and of the era would find tons of little details where the movie departs from the book, but the whole thing is a legend anyway.