There are some movies where you already know how the story is going to end, but somehow, you still find yourself hoping things will turn out differently.
Troy is one of those movies for me.
I went into this movie expecting war, swords, battles and mythology.
And yes, I got all of that.
But what really stayed with me was the story of pride, love, loyalty and the consequences of our decisions.
At the center of the movie is Achilles, played by Brad Pitt.
And honestly, Achilles is a fascinating character.
He is probably the greatest warrior in the movie. He is confident, fearless and almost impossible to defeat.
But there is something else about him.
He wants to be remembered.
He doesn’t just want to live.
He wants his name to live forever.
And that’s where I think the movie becomes deeper than just another war movie.
Because sometimes, the thing we want people to remember us for can become the very thing that destroys us.
Then we have Hector.
And Hector was probably the character I respected the most.
Unlike Achilles, Hector wasn’t fighting because he wanted glory.
He was fighting because he wanted to protect Troy.
He was a prince.
He had a wife.
He had a child.
He had a family waiting for him.
And yet he knew he had a responsibility to his people.
That made his eventual confrontation with Achilles incredibly emotional.
Because you have two completely different men standing against each other.
One fighting for glory.
The other fighting for his home.
And then there is Paris.
This guy really made me angry.
😂
Because let’s be honest, a lot of the problems in this movie started because of him.
He fell in love with Helen, who was already married to Menelaus, and decided to take her back to Troy.
And what followed?
War.
Thousands of people died because of a decision that two people made because they were in love.
And that’s one of the biggest lessons I took from Troy.
Sometimes our personal decisions don’t only affect us.
You may make a decision because it feels right to you, but other people can end up paying the price.
And then we have Helen.
I think Helen’s character raises another interesting question.
Was she worth a war?
Obviously, people in the movie believed she was.
But when you look at the destruction that followed, you begin to wonder whether anyone truly wins when pride and revenge take over.
Menelaus wanted revenge.
Agamemnon wanted power.
Paris wanted love.
Achilles wanted glory.
Hector wanted to protect his family and country.
Everybody wanted something.
And because of those desires, Troy burned.
That’s what I liked about this movie.
Nobody is simply fighting because they woke up and decided they wanted to fight.
Everybody has a motivation.
But sometimes, having a reason doesn’t mean the consequences won’t be devastating.
And the fight between Achilles and Hector?
That was probably one of the most memorable scenes in the movie for me.
You already know these two men cannot walk away from that confrontation together.
But watching Hector prepare himself for it was painful.
He knew what he was facing.
He knew Achilles was probably the better warrior.
But he still stood there.
And when Achilles finally killed him, I didn’t feel like I was watching a hero defeat a villain.
I felt like I was watching one great man kill another great man because of a war that had already taken too much from everyone.
That scene really showed me that there are some victories that don’t feel like victories.
Achilles himself also changes throughout the movie.
At first, he seems almost obsessed with his own legend.
But eventually, we see another side of him.
A man who can love.
A man who can ca
James
