Hondo Ohnaka

My rewatch of Troy (🌟🌟🌟🌟) left me totally stunned. The scale, scope, and significance of every last shot from Wolfgang Petersen & the performances from every last actor (minus Orlando Bloom, get him out of this film) left me floored. It’s been a while since I revisited this film, but one week before Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey hits theaters, I wanted to revisit the story that precedes Odysseus’s journey home, and my God, is this good. I don’t understand the criticism this film faced upon its release back in 2004. I think Troy is a near-masterpiece.  One of the many reasons why Gladiator is such a success (and why Gladiator 2 is such a failure) is the film’s ability in the opening scene to establish that Maximus is an impenetrable leader: you believe based on everything that happens in the opening 10 minutes that every last soldier on that battle field would run through a brick wall for Maximus. Troy achieves this exact sentiment. The very first 15 minutes are totally breathtaking, with Achilles (Pitt) killing Boagrius on Agamemnon’s (Brian Cox) behalf. With one stroke of Achilles’ spear, this film establishes Achilles’ status. You believe from everything beyond this very moment that he’s capable of anything.  “Enemies are forged by war.” Obviously, The Iliad, which this is based on, and The Odyssey, have many meanings to many people. Upon rewatching Troy, my takeaway from this story is that in order in become great, you have to pursue conflict head-on. You can’t run from battle or war, or else how will anyone ever remember you? “That is why no one will remember your name” Achilles scoffs to a boy. The idea is that if you don’t face the hurdles before you, you can never be a true man. The flip side to that coin is Paris (Bloom), who runs from the fight & never earns anyone’s respect. Rather, he is remembered for the shame he brings Troy.  Petersen’s direction shouldn’t be understated. He properly captures not just the scale of this entire film, but the violence. I love that he’s faithful to the original story and doesn’t hold back on how ruthless Achilles was or how brutal this war over Troy turned out. But that doesn’t mean this film isn’t without flaw. I think the romance scenes really slow the film’s pace down & hold it back from its absolute full potential. I also think Orlando Bloom is so bad, he takes me out of the film every time I watch. Especially when you consider that Bloom shares a handful of scenes with Peter O’Toole, who is excellent & gives a classically expressionist performance. Bloom is just so out of place in that context.  Lastly, a word of the film’s two leads- Pitt & Eric Bana, who plays Hector. I will always say this whenever Bana comes up but what the Hell happened that stopped this man from making more good movies after the ‘00s? He’s utterly outstanding in this film & holds his own against Pitt. There’s definitely a parallel universe where Bana has a more fulfilled career. Then there’s Pitt. Every time I revist this film, Pitt’s performance surprises me more and more. His physicality is an essential component to a performance that packs a strong redemptive core. Pitt honestly gives a performance I didn’t think he’s capable of considering the period this takes place. I think between Pitt & Bana, the film’s leads could not be better.  Rewatching Troy got me even more excited for The Odyssey next week. If Nolan’s next film is even half as good as this, we’re in for a treat.

Going to the movies by yourself is literally a humiliation ritual

How it is on a local cinema. We need more IMAX 70MM Screens

Only 40 cinemas on EARTH could show what NOLAN actually filmed.

fuck it, filming in a format that only ~40 cinemas across the world can fully display is anti-art

Me versus my type 🤦🏾‍♂️