Troja

Eine limonadenartige Show von Stars und effektvollen Kämpfen. Die Schauspieler*innen sind solide, das Szenenbild ist schön. Der Kampf von Achilleus und Hektor ist wahrscheinlich der beste Kampf, den ich im Rahmen des Genres gesehen habe. Auch wenn die Sache mit dem Genre umstritten ist. Troja hat nicht den Zauber der Filme von William Wyler, es ist nur ein technisch brillantes Popcorn-Kalkül. (13.05.2004)

Homer did not deserve this. The Olympian gods didn't deserve it either. The screenwriter completely omitted them, thus depriving the famous story of its true spice, the element of magic and mysticism that so befits ancient epics. If there aren’t any gods or magic, what’s left? A script that is hackneyed, very distantly inspired by “The Iliad”, full of clichés, pathetic chatter and would-be deep thoughts, a boring story that doesn't grab you by the heart and is clumsily told. And there’s not even eye-candy! I just have to laugh at Petersen's talk of "unprecedentedly clear fight scenes", it's just the opposite and the very good Hector vs. Achilles fight doesn't save it. It's not surprising that all the essential fight scenes are seen in just the trailer. If I had to make a comparison, Scott's Gladiator, with about half the budget, looks much more narrative, and although the script was similarly silly, it was a real visual treat, which can't be said of Troy. A few computer-generated shots of the city and incoming ships, Petersen's lacklustre direction lacks any ideas, with rare exceptions. The music wasn't great either, and a few words about the actors: I believed Pitt's arrogant Achilles, Bana is incredibly charismatic, O'Toole is still a great actor, only Bloom, with his not very wide acting register, spoils it and regularly alternates between two expressions: a timid and stubborn. The boss at Warner was in tears during the screening. I wonder if it wasn’t for the desperation of where they burned those 200 million bucks. Poor guy. (16.05.2004)

Zunächst einmal heißt es im Abspann des Films: "Inspiriert von Homers Illias“, wofür ich ihm viel verzeihe. Tatsächlich hat es fast nichts mit Homers Meisterwerk gemeinsam, wenn man die teilweise ausgeschmückte Geschichte nicht mit einrechnet. Petersens Film ist ein Versuch, über den Mythos hinauszuschauen, indem er das ursprüngliche Ereignis "wiederbelebt". Es gibt keine Götter, keine Helden außerhalb von Zeit und Raum, nur eine große menschliche Geschichte von Leidenschaft, Liebe, Verrat, Krieg und Heldentum. Es gibt positive und negative Helden (der positive ist eindeutig Hektor, der negative - überraschenderweise - der siegreiche Agamemnon), aber es gibt auch Helden, die zwischen Gut und Böse hin- und hergerissen sind (Paris und Achilles). Es gibt viele Ebenen, auf denen sich diese fesselnde und packende Geschichte abspielen könnte, aber es gibt nur eine Ebene, auf der die Filmemacher dies tatsächlich tun - die Ebene des Hollywood-Spektakels. Troja ist nicht mehr als das, es fehlt an reinen Emotionen ohne Kalkül, es fehlt an echter Magie und Monumentalität (Gimmicks zählen nicht, wenn nichts "dahinter" steht). Petersen tut genau das, wofür er in der Traumfabrik bekannt ist: Er stellt ein gutes Produkt her. Die Kampfszenen sind in großen Teilen und im Detail hervorragend (der Kampf Achilles gegen Hektor ist makellos), aber seiner Regie fehlt das Einfühlungsvermögen und die Fantasie, die in Das Boot oder Die unendliche Geschichte noch durchschimmern. Nichts weiter als technisches Geschick. Diese Fähigkeit wird durch den schändlichen Soundtrack von Horner untergraben, der keinen einzigen Nervenkitzel, keine markante Melodie und keinen Tropfen Energie enthält. Im Gegenteil, er wird von dem brillanten Duo Pitt-Bana unterstützt. vor allem der Erstgenannte spielt seine Rolle mit bewundernswerter Überzeugung, und wenn es etwas gibt, das diesem Trashbonbon zum Durchbruch verhelfen könnte, dann ist es Achilles, ein Held an der Grenze zwischen grenzenloser Arroganz und zerbrechlicher Verletzlichkeit. Und die anderen Gesichter? Bloom ist traditionell schrecklich und auf eine neue Art unsympathisch. O'Toole irgendwie spastisch, aber in Schlüsselmomenten überzeugend, Bean ertrinkt in einem lausigen und thesenhaften Drehbuch usw. Das Ende des Films ist so grausam, dass mir das Messer in der Tasche aufging. Inspired by Illias and endless stupidity. Homers Danaer belagerten Troja zehn Jahre lang; Petersens Statisten sind nach 14 Tagen fertig. Homers Werk hat Tausende von Jahren überdauert, Petersens Werk wird diese Saison nicht überleben. --- Randbemerkung: Die Witze über Aeneas und die Achillesferse sind wirklich gut. Zu erwähnen, dass diese Version im Komplex der griechischen Mythen nicht funktioniert und viele von ihnen unlogisch leugnet (Agamemnon ist ein Paradebeispiel, ebenso das Orakel Laokoon), ist wahrscheinlich unnötig... (17.05.2004)

An ambitious epic that stumbles over its miserable screenplay and idealess directing. A tirade of mediocre scenes and seeming ignorance of the myth make Troy an uninteresting attempt at a great movie which is closer to being a big studio sword-and-sandal Cecil B. DeMille epic than a modern movie intended for the big screen. ♫ OST score: 2/5 (29.01.2007)

Troy is notable primarily as a case study on how Hollywood adapts a classic work with countless characters, motifs and both supernatural and earthbound elements into the form of a spectacular mainstream popcorn epic needing fewer characters, a few cleanly resolved storylines and, mainly, the omission of everything that could be off-putting for the supposed majority of viewers, i.e. everything from deities to non-heterosexual relationships. (15.09.2023)

There’s a problem with Troy. On one hand it has excellent acting performances and spectacular production design, on the other fluctuating directing and stiff dialogs. The screenplay is also a little shaky, making it seem like the Trojan War lasted just a couple of months, instead of ten years. But I appreciate that Benioff wrote everything to be very natural (meaning non-fantasy) and “undivine". But back to Peterson’s directing. In the battles and in some scenes he show that he is able to invoke the right atmosphere and knows how to form the action properly, but in some places he lacks consistency. The music is also a handicap, written in haste by a new composer at the last minute. In terms of acting, as I already said, Troy is excellent. Surprisingly the main star Brad Pitt is easily overshadowed by Eric Bana (both my eyes were moist when Hector was dying ;). Sean Bean didn’t manage to steal much room for his Odysseus, but even so he easily nailed the role of treacherous king. I must also admit that Orlando Bloom had a very thankless role. Playing the greatest idiot in the greatest Greek war isn’t such a trump as it may seem at first sight. But he did a fine job of the role and I must admit that throughout the movie I kept on swearing at Paris under my breath. I remember one thing that made me feel for him for a minute. It was in the scene on the coast when he said: “Burn that horse." And they didn’t obey him. (16.12.2006)

Troy is definitely not bad and it has everything that a big-budget production can offer: young and attractive actors, solid war scenes and somewhat decent romance. Above all, it benefits from the stunning Iliad, although unfortunately it only took the rough skeleton and some essential events from it. The notable drawbacks are Diane Kruger and Orlando Bloom, who seem like advertising mannequins – completely unbelievable. On the other hand, Brad Pitt and Eric Bana are surprising. Wolfgang Petersen is more than a decent craftsman who can handle large budgets and thousands of extras. The ending is powerful and the voice-overs are extremely stylish and suitable for this type of film. It's necessary to see the Director's cut, it has gripping bloody battles and at least half a star up. (24.05.2004)

In the past, this epic Homeric soap opera was enough to make me ecstatic, but times have changed. Troy looks gorgeous, has sequences that can be replayed to the point of insanity, and an unprecedentedly bloated and luxurious cast (except for Legolas, who’s awful again), but the film overestimates itself. While Petersen has confirmed many times that he’s a very capable director, here he has completely forgotten to provide any cohesive parallel developments that would keep the viewer's attention focused for two and a half hours and build the whole mythical conflict up to a scale of fatality higher than the staid Pearl Harbor-type level. The truly impressive adrenaline-packed sequences are interspersed with dull to uninteresting ones, which establish and develop relationships between characters of no importance to the main plot (and this despite the fact that the characters themselves are great – the narcissistic Pitt is brilliant, the chivalrous Bana is an exemplary good guy, Brian Cox is a sleazy villain, and Sean Bean should have been given his own sequel as the likeable Ulysses –  I'll never forgive Hollywood for that). Taken together, it stands as a beautifully made spectacle for the cinema, but its soul is as empty as the stomachs of Somali children, despite its grandeur. 65% (06.05.2018)