So we aren't going to see Gates of Fire anytime soon, but the explosion of big armor and sandal epics is firmly in place starting with Troy. The film is set to debut in 2004 with an amazing cast, a massive budget, and the assured directorial hand of Wolfgang Petersen (who wisely dropped the doomed Superman/Batman project to do this). Additionally, the writing duties are being handled by Michael Tabb and CHUD favorite David (25th Hour) Benioff. All in all, it's a project that looks to be equal to Gladiator in scope and depth if not superior. Brad Pitt, Eric Bana, Brian Cox, Orlando Bloom, Saffron Burrows, Sean Bean, Brendan Gleeson, and Peter O'Toole is a cast most directors would go apeshit over, so the stage is set.

The script I read is not the final draft, but the second draft written by Benioff in late 2002 and carries the Pitt/Bloom/Petersen names on the cover, which would indicate that the draft was at least far enough along to have lured the main leads. At 149 pages, it's a fairly long script but for that length I can't remember one that's been as blazingly fast to read.

What is Troy?

Here's a succinct description from IMDB:

"In the year 1193 B.C., Paris, a prince of Troy stole Helen, Queen of Sparta, away from her husband, Menelaus, setting the kingdoms of Mycenaean Greece at war with Troy. The Greeks began a bloody siege at Troy that lasted over ten years. Achilles was the greatest hero among the Greeks, while Hector, the eldest son of Priam, King of Troy, embodied the hopes of the people of his city."

The great thing about Troy as a concept is how amazingly easy to get into it is. Names like Achilles, Sparta, Agamemnon, Helen, Hector, Priam all register in minds and while their place in lore may be foggy, they carry a familiarity that names like Maximus doesn't. The stories and characters are familiar and add an air of legitimacy to the film and the luscious cast makes it something that would have to be really handled poorly to not be compelling, let alone epic. Thankfully, this draft erases any fears I had and makes it right up there with anything else 2004 has to offer as must-see material.

Beginning right in the middle of a huge battle between the Mycenean army and the Thessalonian army, the story shows off its class and coolness from the opening shots of a dead soldier and then the eight thousand soldiers about to wage battle. The former army is commanded by power hungry Agamemnon (to be played by ubiquitous Brian Cox), who allows the weaker army the chance of avoiding another wave of bloodshed by allowing each group's best warrior to take each other on for victory. When the Thessalonian King Triopas offers forth a huge, scarred, seemingly unbeatable warrior, the Mycenean counters with his own legendary battler...

Achilles.

Except, he's nowhere to be found.

This is what's cool about Troy. It's not about good guys and bad guys. It's about varying shades of honor, skill, and maturity.

Brad Pitt is Achilles, the bronze-plated swordsman who's never been bested in battle. When sent for, we see that Achilles is in his tent with his woman instead of on the battlefield where he's needed. He's a rock star, only a few thousand years early.

Confident, vain, but definitely a warrior without equal, Achilles is a man only concerned with being remembered throughout the ages. His loyalty fluctuates, his reliability wavers, and he has no love for hierarchy. He fights for himself and only cares for his student and the women he chooses. Everything else is periphery. Of course, he does arrive to battle the Thessalonian stomper. Of course, he does live to see another day, for he is Brad Pitt and his name lives above the title.

Here's the thing, though. He's not the hero nor the villain. In fact, while some of the characters are painted more dastardly than others, I feel the biggest strength of Troy is how it's rife with rich characters of varying shades of gray instead of having a hero and a villain and all else there just to propel the story. Achilles is vain and distracted by fame, but still a great warrior who shows where he draws the line. It's a good role for Pitt, one which he'll have to really deliver in to be convincing as a guy who can best muscular hulks convincingly, but one that'll be greatly helped by his considerable charisma.

The real hero of the film is Hector (Eric Bana). While not as well remembered as Achilles (which is obvious why if you read the stuff by Homer or scholars), he represents the stoic and driven leader of men a big story like this needs.

Noble, cunning, and as strong a family man as he is a warrior, Hector's the kind of role that'll do more for Eric Bana than The Hulk or Chopper ever could aspire to. It's the kind of part that makes careers.

If they handle the meat of the story well and juggle the high profile cast and their characters well, this could be a film that sets a new precedent. Where Gladiator was terrific but focal on one or two characters, this should really embody the old fashioned "epic" feel in terms of characters (at least 6 major roles), scope (a handful of huge battles), and size (this needs to run 3 hours). This is a better story than the Russell Crowe favorite. It's better in most every way (though I'd take Ridley Scott over most any other director). For all intents and purposes, Troy should emerge at the top of a very prestigious heap if Benioff's script is indeed the template for the film. Bana stands to gain the most, as his character is the one that is written and conceived to be the most heroic.

With Hector and Achilles are flawed, but equally compelling characters, the scenery is rife with plum roles and characters who aren't the typical underwritten supporting roles.

In Paris, Orlando Bloom has a role that is light years away from his Legolas character. The younger, impulse driven prince (and younger brother to Hector) is a role that on the page is one that'll require tons of charisma as well as a considerable amount of humbleness as Paris is not the legendary warrior Achilles or his brother Hector is. Of course, it'd take an actor like Bloom to pull off landing the most beautiful queen of all (the face that launched 1,000 ships), and it's plainly obvious that Paris is a role that requires more beauty than brawn. As written, it's a meaty role and once again while Paris jumpstarts the war with his passion, he's not a villain. Even the least likable characters all have obvious motives, with Agamemnon having the most darkness towards qualifying as a villain.

Additionally, Gleeson's role of Spartan king Menelaus is considerably meaty, and the theft of his wife certainly makes good dramatic sense for launching an assault. His interplay with Brian Cox should make for some grand, Shakespearean moments and while they serve as two of the shadier characters in the script, they are but catalysts.

Seeing Sean Bean as Odysseus will be a joy, as the character seems to be a nice mentor to Achilles in some respects and the actor is finally starting to get his due respect. Peter O'Toole as Trojan king Priam... well, we'll see if he can pull it off.

Overall, it's loaded with great stuff, cool battles, and some huge opportunities to to showcase all that makes films like Spartacus, Ben-Hur, and even The Lord of the Rings so memorable. Huge scale battles, ageless themes, and the kind of tragedy that makes these works endure.

Everything is in place for Troy to be unforgettable. I've done my best not to reveal anything about the details of the plot, except to say that I loved it and am dying to see it. More info as tangible stuff surfaces.