Troy-Another My Wiener is Bigger Than Peter Jackson’s Wiener Movie
I go to see movies like this because I review them, that’s it. People need to stop going to movies of this kind. These “historically based” “our studio is better than your studio” movies are a bore. There are so many movies currently being cranked out in response to The Lord of the Rings that it is comical and while the budgets are massive, the entertainment value of these films is sporatic. See my review of the miserable experience that is Alexander for more on topic.
Speaking of Alexander, undoubtedly the two films will be compared as both are historical epics designed to “give the stupid dim-witted masses what they want”. Both Troy and Alexander are ego-driven answers to The Lord of the Rings and both try to take the “classy” high ground and both were, unfortunately, well attended by audiences overseas. One key differences is that US audiences were smart enough to stay away from the horrific mess that was Oliver Stone’s Alexander. Troy did infinitely better at the box office than Alexander, mostly because, Troy while a rather flat and flaw film, was not a horrible train wreck like Alexander and Troy sported the star power of Brad Pitt. Troy is a more entertaining movie than director Wolfgang Petersen’s last film The Perfect Storm about Chowder Necks lost at sea.
Troy is definitely the, “I can put more soldiers up on the screen than Peter Jackson can,” historical epic based on Homer’s Illiad, we’re talking ancient history here, not The Simpsons. The script is penned by David Benioff, who wrote The 25th Hour (Updated Note Benioff is currently writing the scripts for the X-Men spin-off of Wolverine and the Orson Scott Card’s beloved Ender’s Game) which was directed by Spike Lee. Apparently, Benioff’s father is former head of Goldman Sachs and is arguably one of the most powerful men in the county. Thus, Benioff has big expectations on his back. Benioff’s script isn’t bad, you can follow the plot, for the most part, and you are not left snoozing for any considerable stretches of time. Whereas, in Alexander, bring a pillow.
Wolfgang Petersen’s direction has all the earmarks of German anal retention and likely drove some in the crew to take shots of whiskey before they snorted their coke, but you can’t argue with the results. The film looks great, the action sequences are awesome, and guess what? Those action sequences should be great, why you ask? I haven’t mentioned the budget yet. Sit down, this puppy cost over $$160-170 million dollars but made well over $450 million so, there you have it.
As for the acting, Pitt and Bana are quite good and give consistent performances throughout. The acting in general is fine, but somehow everything comes across as campy. To make a long story short, this is probably the best of the “look how much bigger my wiener is than Peter Jackson movies,” its certainly better than Alexander, its somewhat better than King Arthur, and most of the rest of this current rash of, let’s calling them Jacksonian Pissing Contest films. I just finding it sad that so much of the big budget films have audiences looking to the past instead of to the future or the here and now. Either way, maybe Hollywood can give us a break from men in kilts/skirts for a while, enough already.
Story C
Acting B
Visuals B
Originality/Innovation D-
Enjoyability Grade B
Home Theater/HD Factor B
Overall Grade B-
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