It is the year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age. Two emerging nations begin to clash after Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus, and sail with him back to Troy. After Menelaus finds out that his wife was taken by the Trojans, he asks his brother Agamemnom to help him get her back. Agamemnon sees this as an opportunity for power. So they set off with 1,000 ships holding 50,000 Greeks to Troy. With the help of Achilles, the Greeks are able to fight the never before defeated Trojans. But they come to a stop by Hector, Prince of Troy. The whole movie shows their battle struggles, and the foreshadowing of fate in this remake by Wolfgang Petersen of Homer's "The Iliad."WARNING!! SPOILERS!!
Brad Pitt plays Achilles, the legendary Greek warrior. King Agamemnon's army reveres Achilles as their greatest fighter, faster, stronger, and deadlier with a sword then all others. As the Greek's army champion, Achilles has won many battles by defeating the other country's champion. The Trojan War begins when Prince Paris of Troy (Orlando Bloom) takes his lover, the beautiful Queen Helen (Diane Kruger), the wife of King Menelaus of Sparta (Brendan Gleeson), back to Troy. All the Greek armies unite under King Agamemnon (Brian Cox), a total of 50,000 soldiers sail to Troy in a thousand ships. The walls of Troy are invincible to an invading army, so Troy has never been defeated in battle. The battle begins with Achilles and his men reaching the Troy beach first and taking the beach almost by themselves. Achilles captures Prince Hector (Eric Bana) in the temple, but he lets him go free for another day. King Agamemnon does not honor Achilles for his victory, and Achilles' pride is hurt. Achilles and his men stayed out of the next battle, and the Greeks are beaten badly. Achilles is about to return home when Hector kills his cousin in battle, thinking it was Achilles. Achilles challenges Hector, and they fight to the death. Achilles wins and drags Hector's body away. Hector is returned for a proper funeral, which includes a 12-day truce. During this time, the Greeks build the Trojan Horse and leave. The wooden horse is taken into the city, and the men inside open the gates of Troy.
I personally felt that this movie is one of the best movies I have ever seen. It very well directed and well casted. This movie also has beautiful scenery. And on top of that, the fight scenes in this movie were very well choreographed. For example, in the opening scene Achilles fights the champion of another army invading Greece. In that battle, Achilles kills the man with a single stroke of his sword. All in all, this movie definnately gives you a bang for you buck.
