Remember History is written by Victors, atleast ancient history was
Troy is based on Homer's Iliad and perhaps Odyssey as well, composed somewhere in the 8th century BC.
My review is more historical in nature focusing more on the plot and less on the technical aspects of the movie.
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About Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece dominated Europe and was divided into several small principalities each having its own king. All of these Kings fought among themselves mostly to prove their superiority. There were also groups of warriors having no alliances to
any particular King but they fought for Greece.
Women were treated as instruments of extending ones own lineage - If a man wins her (as spoils of war) then her children by previous wedding were mostly killed or banished.
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Prologue - Character Introduction
It was prophesied by Thetis(Achilles mother) that if Achilles went to Troy for the Trojan war he would not come back. To avoid this his mother disguised him as a female and sent him away under the aegis of a King where he fell in love with his daughter and bore children.
There was another prophecy made by a wise man when Achilles was very young that Troy would never be captured without Achilles help. Troy was a battleground for young Achilles where he destroyed many towns and attained his legendary status.
Prophetic daughter of Priam, King of Troy foretold that Prince Paris would be the cause of destruction of Troy and should be killed at birth, however he survived and thats a different story.
Helen is known to be the most beautiful woman of Greece - every Greek warrior wanted her hand causing inconvenience to her father who worried that if he offended these warriors then they would seek revenge. An agreement was created that all Kings would defend and protect him, who is chosen by Helen(her 2nd wedding) as her husband, against any wrong done against him in regard to his marriage by any one ......
Helen chose the Spartan King Menalaus and seems to have stayed with him for 15 years before being abducted/seduced by Paris (Younger Prince of Troy, Brother of Hector).
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The Movie
The plot kicks off with Helen (Diane Kruger), Queen of Sparta eloping with Paris(Orlando Bloom) during his visit to Sparta on an invitation from the Spartan King Menalaus to propose peace between the 2 kingdoms. Paris is joined by his elder brother and the brave Prince Hector (Eric Bana).
Humilated & seeking revenge King Menalaus approaches his ambitious & ruthless brother, the mighty King Agamemnon who is just waiting for an excuse to invade Troy.
With a huge fleet and army, the United forces(remember the agreement) of Greece approach Troy - Achilles(Brad Pitt) is a part of this fleet, participating more for glory rather then riches/women.
What now follows is the Legendary Trojan War in which the city of Troy is burnt to ground, a civilisation destroyed and many a brave warriors (Achilles, Hector, Ajax, Agamemnon etc) on either side are killed.
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The Review
The biggest flaw of the movie is that it fails to depict the Trojan War as being fought over a 10-year period !!! Nowhere did I feel that the war is lasting for 10 years - Memory lapse from the director's side perhaps.
Next Achilles killed in Troy and him being a part of the Trojan Horse is absurd and poora filmy??? He is killed much before the Trojan Horse incident. And same is the case with King Agamemnon who it is said goes back to Greece with his loot ;--)
And lastly the way the Greeks directly find Troy and attack them is unbelievable - the war lasted 10 years as locating Troy was not very easy and many Kingdoms defended Troy - to reach Troy the Greeks had to destroy several towns on their way.
Brad Pitt as Achilles has been aptly portrayed; blonde, feminine and agile and does justice to his role (forget his thighs).
Best scenes from the movie include the launching of 1000 ships, the meeting of Achilles and King Priam (Peter O'Toole) who has come to claim the body of his son Hector, the first confrontation between Achilles & Hector and the war of words between Achilles & King Agamemnon, the argument between Paris & Hector on the ship ....and lastly the miniscule role of the Mighty Warrior Ajax.
The landing of the ships on the shores of Troy is reminiscent of landing at Normandy from Saving Private Ryan but less grotesque. The movie is a visual treat and is strictly to be enjoyed in Theatre. Cinematography and the music is pretty haunting and convincing but the movie sets remind you of being in a desert kind of place - kind of yellowish tinge to the whole movie.
Costumes could have been more authentic, same for the ropes & sails used for ships. The jewellery & costumes for this movie have been sourced from India.
Overall the movie does fall short of expectations as far as the plot is concerned. One gets a feeling as if the main characters are hastily sketched and one never knows what was the aftermath of the war - What happened to Helen, Paris, Hector's wife & son? - Do not worry I have answered these and other in my epilogue below. The director is not sure if he wants to focus on Achilles story or the fall of Troy - anyway he fails in both leaving plenty of loose ends to the imaginations of the viewers.
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Epliogue - The Aftermath
~Paris is killed just before the end of the Trojan war.
~King Agamemnon takes the prize catch ''Helen'' of Sparta/Troy at the end of the war instead of executing her.
~Helen passes several hands after Paris to his cousins to Agamemnon and further.
~Hector's wife(her side of family is completely destroyed by Achilles) is taken as a slave by Achilles son & bears him children..
~Hector's son is thrown by Achilles son from the walls of Troy and dies instantly.
~ If you are wondering as to the fate of the lovely slave of Achilles - no news yet ;--)
Detailed Credits for this movie are available at https://troymovie.warnerbros.com
A far greater battle will be fought 4 centuries later which will redefine Greek history - read my review of this book at https://mouthshut.com/readreview/56376-1.html
