Troy

The blonde leading the blonde

TROY Cert. 15 Director: Wolfgang Petersen

There is a deep desire for immortality in the human soul, placed there by God. The theme of this film, loosely based on the story of the Trojan wars from Homer's Iliad, is that by battle and victory men strive to earn for themselves empire and everlasting fame.

The theft from Greece of the blonde Helen (the face that launched 1,000 ships) by Paris, prince of Troy (Orlando Bloom), is actually just an excuse for war. The real motive behind the conflict is the Greek king Agamemmnon's desire for domination. His trump card is the rebellious Achilles (the blonde Brad Pitt), lightning fast and invincible in battle. Why is Achilles eventually persuaded to go to fight for the king he despises? It is that he might carve out a name for himself which will go down in history.

The acting is not great in this movie. Everyone is meant to look immensely beautiful and stunning, but actually there is a distinct air of tackiness. The nudity is thankfully limited to a few bare backsides. My wife and I looked at each other through the cinematic gloom and winced at parts of the dialogue. The only redeeming feature is the reliable Sean Bean and the spectacular battle scenes. You pity both sides in this war for their arrogant stupidity. Of course, it all ends in carnage and tragedy as the city's defences are finally breached by the famous subterfuge of the wooden horse. And there, perhaps, is the moral Christians can take. There is only one way to immortality. It is not through pride, lust and aggression, but through submission to Jesus Christ. Love not the world.

JEB