Threpetition

In my sickness, I’ve pretty much been watching the same three movies over and over again: Rounders, Last Action Hero, and Troy. Rounders is an old favorite–gambling + Ed Norton = cool. Last Action Hero is a guilty pleasure. And Troy is kinda new to me. I didn’t see it in the theatres (I really don’t like supporting Brad Pitt’s career), but I was pleased to catch it on cable. The cast, save for Brad, is really impressive and there are some nice performances in the flick. Here’s what I enjoyed.

– Legolas did a great job as the impulsive and cowardly Paris. It was neat seeing him go from heroic characters like Legolas and Will Turner to a pretty-boy-pansy like Paris.

-Boromir did well as Oddyseus. He didn’t have a big role, but he did a good job at conveying a hero that wasn’t necessarily the strongest, but certainly the craftiest. He had such an interesting mix of wisdom and manipulativeness. It’s fitting that he survived the war and it’s fitting that it took him so damn long to get home.

-Peter O’Toole is awesome and it’s nice to see him in anything (except maybe Phantoms).

-Menelaus and Agamemnon were portrayed interestingly. The latter was a bit too snivelling. I understand that for the purposes of the movie he had to play Achilles’ foil, but he wasn’t the total dick the movie made him out to be. I was happy Sabretooth found work playing Ajax–ex pro-wrestlers need to be in more movies–but I was irritated that his death was so lame and in no way connected to The Illiad.

-Most of all, I was really impressed with The Hulk’s portrayal of Hector. He definitely was the deepest character in the moving–reluctant warrior, great leader, loving son/brother/husband, caring ruler, etc. His presence and charm were great to watch. I like that he was the most aware character in the film; everyone had a pretty single-minded agenda except Hector and Oddyseus. He was brilliant in this movie and even though he sucked as The Hulk, I’m still impressed that he can so easily get rid of his goofy-ass Australian accent.