Troy is a movie written by David Benioff, and loosely based on Homer's epic tale. A two and a half hour epic (UK: 163 min / Germany:162 min cut version, and is directed by Wolfgang Petersen, who is himself, no stranger to blockbuster movies, with such movies as, The Perfect Storm, Outbreak and Air Force One, among his successes. Now if you have lived under a rock all your life, and have no idea what the Iliad is, then first I will tell you a little about it, so that you will have a better understanding of the review.

Also, a much more important piece of information is omitted from the film, which would have easier explained the reason Helen left her husband suddenly for the young Prince of Troy, once a humble shepherd. The Iliad tells us, Zeus chose Paris as the catalyst for the destruction of Troy, because he chose Aphrodite as the fairest Goddess at the wedding of Achilles' parents, Thetis the Goddess, and Peleus, a mortal. Aphrodite rewards Paris with the love of the most beautiful mortal woman, Helen of Sparta. With this vital piece of information missing, it is hard to see just why Helen leaves her husband, for Paris, and instead of some solid reason, we are given some silly love story.

Now, having pointed out the missing plot details, what did the film have to offer the cinema going audience?
Well, much of the original story actually does remain intact. We do see the young prince Paris, played by Orlando Bloom, steal Helen away from her husband, King Menelaus, and the Greeks do send 1000 ships to attack the fabulous city of Troy. Also Achilles, does indeed argue with Agamemnon over a woman, and refuse to fight again, that is, until someone close to his heart dies, then he flexes those muscles once more. And the most famous part, the wooden horse, an idea born of Odysseus in the tale, the downfall of Troy, does appear.

The cinematography and elaborate CGI sets, added to the rich feel of the film, and though they staged this with daylight shots, the footage is perfectly put together. Seeing all those troops on Troy's beach was quite a sight to see, as were the fleet of ships sent on the invasion. Rumour has it, Peterson had around $185 to spend on the sets in England, Malta and Mexico. The production had to move from Morocco to Mexico, because of the war in Iraq.

I think the chosen actors did a splendid job with their respected characters, with the exception of Orlando Bloom, who I feel was very out of place, and didn't do his character justice. Paris was very dull, and one could not share sympathy for him, a shame, because the young Prince deserved it, having to live in his brother Hector's shadow. Trying to live up to his father's expectation of him, and his brothers reputation, must have been hard. A different actor playing Paris, may have made that more apparent than Bloom did. Instead, Paris appeared as a wimpy bore, and quite frankly, I couldn't have cared less whether he lived or died.