"Troy" opens summer movies with a bang

The story of Troy has been retold countless times and still echoes down through the millennia. Helen, Achilles, Agamemnon, Odysseus – their names are still almost as well known now as they were more than 3,000 years ago. But never before has this immortal story been brought so vividly and powerfully to life as it is in "Troy."

Grand, magnificent, visually stunning and yet grounded in solid and moving performances, "Troy," directed by Wolfgang Petersen, is the first movie of 2004 to show definite Oscar potential. While "Gladiator" came close to capturing ancient life and warfare in the Mediterranean, it still looked too computer-generated in its city vistas and only had one huge battle. "Troy" though, looks unbelievably realistic, with full-sized boat and cityscape sets and countless massive clashes of titanic armies. One feels as though this is what life and warfare really could have looked like in ancient Greece.

"Troy" begins with some quick background, showing the Greek megalomaniac Agamemnon (Brian Cox) cementing his dominion over the Greek kingdoms. He succeeds with the reluctant help of brash, wild and splendidly muscled Achilles (Brad Pitt), the best fighter in the entire world. Greece is solidified and it appears that peace has been made with rival Troy. Suddenly the utterly selfish Paris (Orlando Bloom), a prince of Troy, instigates a catastrophe. He steals Helen (Diane Kruger), the queen of Sparta and wife of the powerful King Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson), brother of Agamemnon.

When King Priam (Peter O'Toole) and Prince Hector (Eric Bana) of Troy go against their better judgment and don't return Helen, war becomes inevitable. Agamemnon has been looking for an excuse to attack Troy for years, and Paris foolishly drops the perfect reason to shatter peace right into his lap. The Greeks raise a fleet of over 1,000 ships carrying over 50,000 men, all hell-bent on burning Troy to the ground. The Trojans, commanding the most powerful city in the world, gird for battle. The unstoppable and bloody war comes to fruition as the Greeks and Trojans slaughter each other almost to the last man.

Overall, every aspect of this film is fantastic. The sweeping views of armies crashing together in terrifying combat are awe-inspiring; in a time when it seemed as if "Lord of the Rings" would easily have the greatest epic battle scenes for years to come "Troy" has easily snatched that honor. The film is remarkably well paced as well, with almost no wait time before the major fighting begins and no long stretches of boring down time in between.

Even the film's ensemble cast performs surprisingly well for what is essentially an action flick. The solid acting behind "Troy" forces the audience to face the true brutality of war rather than experience it solely as a spectacle. Eric Bana, Peter O'Toole and Brad Pitt all deserve special note for exemplary performances that bring their characters to life. Priam, the tragic king who loses everything, and Achilles, the proud and vindictive warrior are compelling characters, but the best, no doubt, is Hector, the brilliant military leader tired of his life of war. Eric Bana could easily see an Oscar nomination for his role come next year.

There are, however, a few flaws. Although nearly every minute is worthwhile, at more than two-and-a-half hours "Troy" weighs in a little too heavy in the runtime department. Also, Brian Cox's performance as Agamemnon is hideously overacted, reminiscent of a professional wrestler with a case of extreme steroid rage. He screams every line in the entire movie, with one of his especially overdone yells finally reducing the audience to laughter.

"Troy" is also not particularly faithful to its source material, Homer's "Iliad." Many aspects of the original tragic poem have been left out entirely, such as the gods' direct interventions into the war. However, most of the major events and fates of the main characters have been left unchanged.

The story of the Trojan War has seeped down through our entire culture. From the Achilles' heel in our ankles to the Trojan Horse viruses that infect our computers, the influence is inescapable. The greatest triump of "Troy" is to finally be the definitive screen version of this timeless story.

"Troy" is rated R for violence and brief nudity.