![]() Agamemnon commands the Greek kings to assemble their forces but Nestor notes that Troy has never fallen before and convinces him that they need Achilles. He convinces Agamemnon to attack Troy, Agamemnon agrees because he sees this as an opportunity to control shipping in the Aegean by destroying the most important city on the coast of Asia Minor. Menelaus, having discovered his wife's flight, has approached his brother for help. He later shows her to his brother, who thinks of sending her back, but realises that Paris will only follow her. The two lovers run away, with Paris smuggling Helen on board a vessel bound for Troy. ![]() Helen expresses fear because Paris and Hector leave the next day, but Paris has a plan to rescue Helen. Paris and Helen, Menelaus' wife secretly go upstairs, where it is revealed they have been having an affair. Meanwhile, in Sparta, Agamemnon's brother Menelaus is entertaining Princes Hector and Paris, emissaries from Troy. Achilles kills Boagrius and Agamemnon gains dominion over Thessaly. ![]() Although Achilles is unwilling to fight for Agamemnon, Nestor persuades him to do so, saying he can save hundred of men by fighting Boagrius. The king of Thessaly summons Boagrius, while Agamemnon summons Achilles. The two sides have summoned armies to meet on the field of battle, but Agamemnon proposes single combat between two champions. Surely the gods will look upon it and smile.The film begins with Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, having subdued all the Greek kingdoms except Thessaly. Even so, Troy remains a hugely entertaining film, sprinkled with moments of brilliance. It's only when the walls of Troy are breached that the film becomes a little unsteady, largely because its key conflict has already been resolved. Note too, a quietly confident Sean Bean as Odysseus. A pivotal moment of The Iliad, it's also a standout scene here, with O'Toole heading the pack of sterling performances. The steely gaze of Peter O'Toole, as Trojan King Priam, is used to similarly penetrating effect during a last appeal to Achilles' conscience. Petersen shoots the battle scenes in accordingly down-and-dirty style, most memorably the showdown between Hector and Achilles - the resounding clang of sword striking shield amplifying heart-stopping tension. Keeping the Olympian gods out of the frame, screenwriter David Benioff opts for ground-level realism, preserving the mythology through the deeply held superstitions of his characters. Where Achilles is puffed with arrogance, Hector is essentially decent - defining qualities that will ultimately prove the chinks in their respective armour. Laying in wait for him is Paris' older and much wiser brother, Hector (a scene-stealing role for the magnetic Eric Bana). Reluctant to spill the blood of thousands for what he sees as a quarrel between two men, Achilles is finally swayed into battle by the promise of immortality. ![]() To ensure victory he calls upon Greece's premier fighting machine, Achilles - portrayed with fitting celestial vanity by megastar Pitt. His actions inadvertently provide Menelaus' brother, and King Of Kings, Agamemnon (a deliciously canny Brian Cox) with a convenient excuse to invade Troy, thus securing his hold over the Aegean Sea. Pubescent lust is the trigger for war, with playboy Prince of Troy Paris (Orlando Bloom) stealing away the beautiful Helen (Diane Kruger) from Spartan King Menelaus (Brendon Gleeson). No doubt this is pure Hollywood sensation, but it's also poignant storytelling, acutely sensitive to the themes of human frailty at the heart of its source. Director Wolfgang Petersen retells the tale with swagger and grit, while a buff and burnished Brad Pitt leads the assault as the warrior hero Achilles. ![]() An epic in the truest sense of the word, Troy is inspired by Homer's tragic poem The Iliad - a mythic rendering of an ancient war fought between Greeks and Trojans. ![]()
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