Today’s quick review: Troy: The Odyssey. Following the Greeks’ ten-year siege of Troy, Odysseus (Dylan Vox), the king of Ithaca, prepares to sail home with his men. But with his dying breath, the Trojan king lays a curse on Odysseus, forbidding him from ever returning to Ithaca. Taking the Trojan priestess Circe (Lara Heller) with him as protection against the curse, Odysseus sets sail for home, only to be waylaid by strange and terrible dangers.
Troy: The Odyssey is a budget fantasy action adventure movie loosely based on Greek mythology. Unfortunately, the movie has a hard time living up to its classical roots. The movie’s budget shows in everything from its action and special effects to its acting and dialogue. The plot preserves the broad strokes of The Odyssey but changes several key events, while the movie’s attempts at going the action route are stymied by its small sense of scale.
Troy: The Odyssey plays fast and loose with its source material. The most notable change is that Circe is now a Trojan priestess who joins Odysseus on his journey home. Despite being a central part of the revised story, Circe fits awkwardly into her new role, requiring several clumsy modifications to the plot to keep her relevant. In principle Circe’s story could have worked smoothly, but in practice she throws the plot badly off balance.
The other changes serve to streamline the story further, in keeping with the film’s budget limitations. The great armies of Greece and Troy are reduced to a few dozen at most, while the setting is established with only a few brief, low-budget CGI shots. Key events from Odysseus’ journey are merged into one or cut entirely. Some of these changes are justifiable as part of the adaptation, but others are wholesale fabrications that serve little purpose.
The film’s execution quality is low enough that its deviations from the source material matter. The most robust parts of the movie are those lifted directly from The Odyssey, while the new inventions are generally lacking. Stiff acting and clumsy dialogue undermine the film’s drama. The action side fares little better, consisting of one-on-one swordplay with little weight or flair, coupled with the occasional fleeting appearance of a monster.
Troy: The Odyssey is only worth a watch for those who wish to pick it apart. Its execution leaves it badly outclassed by other action movies, other fantasy movies, and other works of historical fiction, with little to redeem it. For a better take on related source material, check out the version of Troy starring Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom. For a more inspired take on Greek mythology, check out either version of Clash of the Titans.
2.6 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 3.5 for poor acting, underwhelming action, and flimsy execution overall.