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Cast

Greeks

• Brad Pitt as Achilles - Son of of the Peleus and Thetis. Leader of the Myrmidons.
• Diane Kruger as Helen - Queen of Sparta and wife of Menelaus. Lover of Paris.
• Sean Bean as Odysseus - King of Ithaca and friend of Achilles. Considered the wisest among the Greeks.
• Brendan Gleeson as Menelaus - King of Sparta and husband of Helena. Brother of Agamemnon.
• Brian Cox as Agamemnon - King of Mycenae. Brother of Menelaus.
• Garrett Hedlund as Patroclus - Cousin and student of Achilles.
• Tyler Mane as Ajax - King of Salamis. Second to Achilles among the Greeks in terms of fighting skills.
• John Shrapnel as Nestor - Adviser of Agamemnon.
• Vincent Regan as Eudoros - Captain of the Myrmidons.
• Julie Christie as Thetis - Mother of Achilles.
• Ken Bones as Hippasus - Adviser of Menelaus.
• Julian Glover as Triopas - King of Thessaly.
• Nathan Jones as Boagrius - Thessalonian champion.
• Siri Svegler as Polydora - Spartan entertainer.
• Adoni Maropis as Agamemnon's officer.
• Jacob Smith as Messenger boy.
• Retxed Karpintero as Old Spartan fisherman.
• Lucie Barat as Helen's handmaiden.

Trojans

• Eric Bana as Hector - Prince of Troy and the best warrior among the Trojans. Eldest son of Priam, brother of Paris and husband of Andromache.
• Orlando Bloom as Paris - Prince of Troy. Youngest son of Priam, brother of Hector and lover of Helen.
• Peter O'Toole as Priam - King of Troy and father of Hector and Paris.
• Rose Byrne as Briseis - Priestess of Apollo and cousin of Hector and Paris. Lover of Achilles.
• Saffron Burrows as Andromache - Princess of Troy and wife of Hector.
• James Cosmo as Glaucus - Commanding general of the Trojan army.
• Nigel Terry as Archeptolemus - Trojan high priest and adviser of Priam.
• Trevor Eve as Velior - Trojan priest.
• Mark Lewis Jones as Tecton - Captain of the Apollonian Guard.


A return to the old-fashioned sword and sandal epics of the 1950s, Troy was presumably given the go-ahead after the worldwide commercial and critical success of Gladiator. Based on Homer's Iliad, it's suitably epic in tone, recreating one of the greatest sieges and wars in mankind's history, and while it seems a cert to succeed at the box office, don't be too expectant of seeing it feature at next year's Academy Awards. Director Wolfgang Petersen is no stranger to the blockbuster, with Air Force One, The Perfect Storm and Outbreak among his credits. For his first historical epic he has assembled a stellar cast, has had mountains of dollars at his disposal (a reported $185m), along with huge sets in England, Malta and Mexico. Although there are one or two alterations to the original story, the script sticks pretty much to the accepted version. Opening at a celebration in Sparta given by King Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson), the action quickly gets under way once Paris (Orlando Bloom) spirits Menelaus' wife Helen (Diane Kruger) away to Troy. The Greeks are furious, most of all Menelaus' brother Agamemnon (Brian Cox), who decides to invade Troy and gain victory at all costs. He summons Achilles (Brad Pitt) to aid his cause, and sets off in the infamous flotilla of one thousand ships. When Paris and his brother Hector (Eric Bana) arrive in Troy, their father Priam (Peter O'Toole) faces a difficult decision - return Helen and sacrifice his son, or face certain invasion from the Greeks. With both Achilles and Odysseus (Sean Bean) against them, Priam knows he has only the strength of his walled city and the determination of his army to repel the invaders. There are battle scenes aplenty, some of them hugely spectacular and enjoyable, most of all a bruising encounter between the cowardly Paris and the giant-like Menelaus, watched by the assembled armies. However, for a lot of the 165 minutes running time, we are subjected to some rather undramatic dialogue scenes which slow the pace down considerably. And for one of the most expensive films ever made, it is sometimes difficult to see where exactly all the money went, given that many of the scenes are either very intimate, or filmed on a beach location. Petersen makes many wise casting choices, notably in the Celtic triumvirate of Cox, Gleeson and O' Toole, who add class and believability to all of their scenes. As Hector, Eric Bana is also impressive. However, both Bloom and Pitt fail to light up the screen. Bloom's Paris is both insipid and unconvincing, while the portrayal of Achilles seems to be all about how to make Pitt look as sexy as possible. When he opens his mouth it all goes wrong however, and the scene in which he cries at the death of his cousin Patroclus (his lover in the Ancient Greek tale, but obviously not in the modern Hollywood version), brought a burst of unintended laughter from the audience. Nevertheless, those seeking some good old-fashioned escapism without too much to think about will enjoy it, and it looks set to be one of the biggest films of the year in terms of box office success.