Acting, technology make 'Troy' shine

"Troy," loosely based on Homer's epic poem "The Iliad," tells the story of the Trojan War which was fought between the Greeks and Trojans. The war begins after Paris (Orlando Bloom), a prince of Troy, convinces Helen (Diane Kruger), the Queen of Sparta, to go back to Troy with him after they fall in love. Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson), Helen's husband, is furious at the loss of his wife and convinces Agamemnon (Brian Cox), the Greek leader, to go to Troy and rescue his wife. Power-hungry Agamemnon has other plans; he intends to use this instance as an excuse to conquer Troy and expand his rule. However, to do so he must convince Achilles (Brad Pitt), the Greek's finest warrior, to fight for him. \nReaders who are familiar with "The Iliad" will likely be disappointed with the film as it is a very loose adaptation. The Greek gods are mentioned but play no real part in the film's story. Also, the poem's war takes place over 10 years and is a battle of attrition. The film's war is over in merely three weeks. While it is understandable that cuts were made to shorten the film, this is still a major change.\nThe film is good, but not epic. The use of technology is well done as the endlessly large armies for both sides look very realistic. The acting is also above par. The Trojan royalty, King Priam (Peter O'Toole) and princes Hector (Eric Bana) and Paris, all turn in very good performances. The most notable showing by a Greek character is from an underused Odysseus (Sean Bean).\nUnfortunately, not everything is good in this movie. Scenes from the film will draw comparisons to other large-scale movies of its type, such as "The Lord of the Rings," but it feels more like a knock-off than a reference. The battle scenes are few and far between, making the film feel very slow and tedious. Also, it is hard to buy into Pitt's performance as Achilles. It was not bad acting; I just never really believed Pitt was Achilles like I was able to for the other characters. The DVD features include three featurettes and a 3-D photo gallery.\nI do not want to give off the impression that the film is a bad one. I actually liked it a lot. It is just a case of a good movie that has some notable flaws. "Troy" is certainly worth at least a rental and worth owning for fans of the genre.