 
If you ask me, Helen of Troy was cute, but no way was she worth going to war over. This big budget (loose) adaptation of Homer’s epic The Illiad may not be the most historically accurate, but it’s a fun ride nonetheless. Brad Pitt is impossibly buff for his role as Achilles and his leap of death as he takes on his oversized opponents is extremely cool. Orlando Bloom is a whiney little beeayatch who puts his entire nation in jeopardy because he has a stiffie for Diane Kruger and I kept waiting for Pitt to slap him silly. Director Wolfgang Petersen chose to leave out the Gods and Goddesses and in the end that may have been a smart move. Focusing on the humanity of the characters and the ravages of war grounded the film in more realistic fashion. Peter O’Toole does an admirable job as the noble King Priam and Brian Cox’s Agamemnon is sufficiently vile. The battle sequences are well staged and there’s just enough violence to warrant an R rating, without getting too gory. This is pretty much Pitt’s film in the end and he carries it easily on those muscular shoulders of his. -- David Bassin
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Troy