Troy



The 2004 movie version of the legend of the Trojan War, starring Brad Pitt and Eric Bana as Achilles and Hector, respectively, and Orlando Bloom as Paris.

The film is not technically an adaptation of Homer's Iliad, despite common misconceptions, as it takes material from other sources as well: the movie covers the entire story of the Trojan War, from the abduction of Helen to the Trojan Horse and the Sack of Troy, whereas the Iliad deals only with a single episode of the war, the wrath of Achilles and the deaths of Patroclus and Hector. While the Iliad covered only a few weeks of the war, in the process of adapting ten years of war to the screen, the film deviates from the plot of the Trojan Cycle in terms of who dies when in the Ensemble Cast, and focuses more on Hector (who many see as the Hero Antagonist of the story).

Other differences include the downplay of supernatural elements, and Achilles is made into a more honorable (and sometimes womanizing) character instead of a brooding Jerkass. While it doesn't try to claim it is "The True Story" of the Trojan War, it is portrayed in a fairly realistic fashion as such that it may very well have happened in a similar way. Achilles is Shrouded in Myth as being demi-god but it is later clarified to not be the case, he is merely an exceptionally powerful human.

"Plague! Don't get too close, my lord. King Priam: What happened here? Priest: They desecrated the temple of the gods, and Apollo desecrated their flesh. Glaucus: They thought they could sack this city in a day. Now look at them... fleeing across the Aegean."
 * Actor Allusion: Orlando Bloom gets to briefly reprise rapid firing arrows at big armored uglies trying to storm his castle.
 * Achilles in His Tent
 * Achilles' Heel: As a nod to the myth, though Achilles dies after being shot repeatedly in the chest by arrows, he pulls them all out before he dies...except the very first one, to his heel. It is also this very injury to his heel that slowed him down, allowing Paris to shoot Achilles repeatedly.
 * Adaptation Distillation: Critics of the film often overlook the fact that it's a mythos with a few basic elements (such as Achilles' death and the location of his weak spot) and variant "sequels" exist that kill off different characters. Most of the events of the movie happen either before the Iliad begins or after it ends, not in the Iliad itself. The gods manipulate the outcome of various battles to keep most of the Greek warriors from dying before the end, and their fate is only politely foreshadowed.
 * Put more succinctly: Troy is not all about the Iliad, and Iliad != the comprehensive work on the fall of Troy. (In fact, many "basic elements" listed above don't appear in the original poem, and the one element that nearly everybody remembers from the Trojan War - the giant wooden horse - doesn't appear in the Iliad and has only a short mention in the Odyssey.)
 * After-Action Villain Analysis: The Trojan priest says this when they find the beach abandoned. (It's a Trap.)

"Messenger Boy: They say your mother was an immortal goddess. They say you can't be killed. Achilles: I wouldn't be bothering with the shield then, would I?"
 * Anachronism Stew: As a movie adaptation of the stories was rather inaccurate, being a "historical interpretation", but one particularly egregious point was that the filmmakers put a llama in the city of Troy. Llamas, of course, being native to the Americas and could not have been in Troy at any time in the past.
 * The movie was filmed entirely in Malta and Mexico, none of which have llamas outside of zoos anyway. This means there was somebody in the production crew that decided and made the effort to find a llama and put it in the film set
 * Also, the Trojan War takes place in the Bronze Age but there are several weapons in the film that didn't exist until the Iron Age or later.
 * Annoying Arrows: Ajax, who simply snaps the arrows and keeps on. The worst part of it is that there aren't even any mythological properties in the movie to justify it.
 * Well, there are quite a few moments where mythological properties could be inferred; Thetis bears a certain water-goddess vibe to her, and Achilles only drops to his knees after an arrow pierces his heel. Plausibly mundane, but if you like, you can read some mythology into it.
 * The first shot goes into the heel, but Achilles gets right back up. It's the five arrows after that that do the trick, but he pulls them out one after another before finally keeling over so when Greek soldiers find him, the only arrow in his body is the one in his foot. Nice touch, that.
 * Bows are like gunpowder, the technology has actually come a long, long way. A shortbow made of mass-production grade wood would have a lot less force than, say, a yew longbow. The arrows weren't particularly large. And Ajax was a very big, very angry man. Still, you'd expect more than a Won't Work On Me.
 * Annoying Younger Sibling: In this adaptation, both Paris and Patroclus would qualify as this to their older brother and cousin respectively.
 * Armor Is Useless: Mocked by Achilles. A boy comes to his tent to tell him that Agamemnon is calling for him and starts gushing about how amazing Achilles is, saying "they say you can't be harmed in battle," to which Achilles responds "then I wouldn't be bothering with the shield, would I?"
 * Audience Surrogate: Hector.
 * Award Bait Song: "Remember" sung by Josh Groban and composed by James Horner, who pretty much deals in these.
 * Badass Army: The Myrmidons.
 * Badass Back: Achilles deflects an arrow to the back without looking.
 * Badass Beard: Glaucus
 * Badass Boast: Achilles to Hector; see To the Pain, below.
 * Badass Normal: Hector
 * Troy has a bit of a thing for tropes relating to Badasses. For some reason...
 * Berserk Button: The younger cousin of Achilles, Patroclus, is definitely this. After learning of the boy's relation, Hector's facial expression says enough about what his fate will be once Achilles learns of . He guesses right....
 * The Berserker: Ajax
 * Big Badass Battle Sequence: Several. First is when the Greek army takes the beach of Troy, second is the battle that occurs at the gates of Troy around halfway through the film, and lastly, the fall of Troy at the end of the film could possibly count.
 * The Big Guy: Ajax
 * Boisterous Bruiser: Menelaus
 * Breakout Character: Hector. While the film is often heavily criticized, one of its selling points is that it diverts from Hector's characterization in the original epic poems where he resorts to stealing, bragging about people he's murdered, and runs from Achilles at their final engagement to the point where the gods themselves have to convince him to fight. In this film, however, he is loyal, level headed, kind, noble, and remarkably down to earth. It is easy to see why everyone is so upset when
 * Broad Strokes: The classic tale by Homer has Achilles and Paris die before the Greeks even penetrate Troy. However since the creators cast Brad Pitt as Achilles, the hero of the film, he doesn't die until the very end. This change allows no fewer than four characters who were supposed to die or be captured to escape.
 * Technically this is true to the Iliad's portrayal, since the book is all about Achilles and Hector, and The Iliad ends with Hector's death.
 * Also, many scenes in The Iliad were altered, such as the scene with Achilles chasing Hector around the city walls until Hector decided to stop running and fight Achilles. That scene probably wouldn't have fit the tone.
 * Several of the characters changed: Agamemnon and Menelaus were not the stock villains they're portrayed as, and escaped the wrath of the gods or women at least until they got home in Agamemnon's case; Hector would have let Paris die, not saved him, because of his sense of honor; Ajax was a civil defensive fighter, not a barbaric berserker.
 * One of the Ajaxes was a berserker at one point, but it's not the one who shows up in the movie. He did, however, go berserk at one point and slaughter an entire flock of sheep.
 * Also: Achilles wasn't a misotheist, he honored the Gods; Patroclus was older and wiser than Achilles (Iliad XI, 780-790), not his whiny baby cousin, and the latter was famous for being among the youngest warriors in the war. And Hector actually tried at great lengths to desecrate Patroclus' corpse throughout the battle. (When Patroclus died the fight actually continued, and wasn't suddenly canceled like a football match).
 * Achilles' soldiers fought tooth and nail to defend Patroclus' body. They were driven off long enough for the body to be looted, but fought their way back to claim the actual corpse.
 * The Brute: Boagrius
 * Byronic Hero: Achilles
 * Call That a Formation: Averted. In the battle
 * Cassandra Truth: Inverted (!) by the Trojan priests, who always give exactly the wrong advice and are always believed. Interestingly, their prophecies are always literally true! Cassandra herself does not appear (merged with Briseis.)
 * Amusingly subverted in the actual myths, as the priests actually foretell that the Trojan Horse will be the doom of Troy. Poseidon, being on the side of the Greeks, shuts up the priest and the Trojans swiftly take the horse inside to avoid being next to feel the god's wrath.
 * Chekhov's Skill: The movie shows that Paris is hopelessly outmatched in sword and shield combat, but he is an excellent archer.
 * Chewing the Scenery:
 * "I will smash their walls to the ground... if it costs me 40,000 Greeks! Hear Me, Zeus!"
 * Cox's Agamemnon swans around in the kind of crazy-colored vestments favored by overweight middle-aged fiber artists, leaving half-chewed crumbs of scenery in his wake. At one point a character scolds, "You can't have the whole world, Agamemnon. It's too big -- even for you!" But Cox gnaws so relentlessly at everything around him, you're sure he could nibble it down to size in no time. -- Stephanie Zacharek, Salon
 * Coitus Ensues: Achilles and Briseis.
 * Common Knowledge: the Trojan horse, Achilles' death, and fall of Troy were not mentioned in The Iliad.
 * Combat by Champion: Achilles vs. Boagrius, Paris vs. Menelaus. The Iliad is Trope Codifier of this one.
 * Composite Character: Briseis. And how: She's combined with Chryseis, Cassandra, and Clytemnestra. Paris gets Laocoön's lines at the end of the film, and most of the competing Greek heroes such as Diomedes are not seen.
 * Compressed Adaptation: the entire ten years of war appear to take place in less than a fortnight.
 * Which is a little more accurate to the source material in some ways. The Iliad itself only deals with four days near end of the war. For the first 9 years and a bit, the Greeks mostly attacked the surrounding cities that were allied with Troy, and dealing with the unfavorable winds and such.
 * Continuity Cameo: Paris hands off the sword of Troy to Aeneas, to the delight of Latin geeks in the audience... though Aeneas is a random teen civilian in the movie instead of a Trojan War warrior.
 * Cool Old Guy: Glaucus, second-in command for the Trojan armies.
 * Costume Porn: The men have kickass armor and often clean up nicely, but the women naturally get pounds of jewelry. Helen's circlet of golden laurel leaves is especially notable.
 * Coup De Grace: Achilles vs. Hector; attempted by Menelaus.
 * Curb Stomp Battle (Menelaus vs. Paris)
 * Averted with Achilles vs. Hector. Hector is clearly outclassed and knows it, but is the only character in the entire film to even come close to wounding Achilles in hand to hand combat. At one point he manages to scratch Achilles' breastplate causing the Greek to look astonished, implying no one had ever managed that before.
 * Achilles vs. Boagrius. That's if you can even call it a battle.
 * Dead Unicorn Trope: The Trojan Horse.
 * Deadpan Snarker: In a movie with Odysseus in it, can anyone else possibly deserve the Deadpan Snarker label?!
 * Hector (to a degree) is the only one to give sound military advice and point out the flaws in the plans of everyone else. When all of Priam's generals are standing up and saying how the gods favored them, Hector says something along the lines of: "We are really outnumbered, and considering Achilles cut off the statue of Apollo's head and he didn't react, I really don't think the gods are going to fight this one for us."
 * Odysseus definitely earns it as well (and also gives sound military advice), he's just in the film less than Hector. Sean Bean manages to convey snark without speech, making silly faces at Achilles while people pay homage to Agamemnon.
 * Odysseus has the most snarky line in the movie: 'The men believe we came here for Menelaus' wife. We won't be needing her any more.'
 * Death by Adaptation: Agamemnon, who in the original myths ends up going home with Cassandra as his slave, only to be killed by his wife.
 * Menelaus' death is even more Egregious, as all the myths make him survive the war and go back to Sparta with Helen, having a daughter after their return. It's easy to see why they changed it, though.
 * Death by Woman Scorned: Agamemnon; see Troy for details.
 * Demoted to Extra: Lysander. He has just enough dialogue with Hector to indicate that most of his scenes were left on the cutting-room floor.
 * Demythtification: Portrayed as more of a "what inspired the legend" reenactment. Gods are kept on the down-low here, although Achilles claims to have seen them.

"*Your own joke about pearl necklaces: inserted here*"
 * In The Iliad, Achilles's mother is a river goddess. In this film, she's a woman of questionable sanity who believes she's a river goddess. We're never quite sure whether she really is a goddess or not.
 * Myths say Priam infiltrated the Greek camp because the god Hermes guided him. Here its because he knows the lay of the land better than the Greeks.
 * Deus Exit Machina: Achilles sulks in his tent for half of the story.
 * Diamonds in the Buff: Paris gives Helen a necklace while she is otherwise nude.

"Achilles: The Gods you speak of -- I've met them. I'll tell you a secret: The Gods envy us. They envy us because we're mortal -- because any moment might be our last. Everything is more beautiful because we're doomed. You will never be lovelier than you are now -- and we shall never be here again."
 * Dirty Coward: Paris. He instigates a war, volunteers to fight as the Champion to end said war quickly, and then runs away after losing the fight.
 * In all fairness, he was being brave just by trying to fight man-to-man, as Menelaus was quite the Badass.
 * Doomed by Canon: The fact that Paris didn't die was what really hurt some fans of Hector. (He didn't even get mortally injured!) Of course, Hector kind of has to die before him....
 * Drop the Hammer: Ajax.
 * Dueling Movies: This film and Three Hundred, despite being released 2 years apart, are often compared despite the primary resemblance being that both involve Greeks.
 * And they share an actor! The guy who plays Achilles' second in command also plays Leonidas' second in command, which is sort of a hilarious thing to get typecast as.
 * Poor guy, that's quite a specific niche. When will he get another part?
 * Duel to the Death: Hector vs. Ajax, Hector vs. Patroclus dressed as Achilles, Hector vs. Achilles.
 * El Cid Ploy: As in the Iliad, Patroclus pulls one by pretending to be Achilles.
 * Ensemble Cast
 * Epic Movie: The poster art says it all.
 * Even the Guys Want Him: Brad Pitt as Achilles, in-universe example.
 * Executive Meddling: Composer Gabriel Yared labored for months on the soundtrack. A few weeks before the film's release, test audiences said the score was "too old-fashioned," and it was unceremoniously scrapped. James Horner was given about twelve days to write something new.
 * Gabriel Yared's score was restored in the Extended Edition. Very nice.
 * Famed in Story: Take a wild guess.
 * Family Man: Hector. It doesn't go well for him.
 * Fan Service: Brad Pitt, Eric Bana and Orlando Bloom all get some glistening, well-muscled shirtless scenes. The guys get (an almost nude) Diane Kruger, Rose Byrne and Saffron Burrows.
 * The Fatalist: Achilles, among others.

"Soldiers of Troy! To LEAD you men has been my Honah! The boatman waits for us! Let's make him wait... a little Longah!"
 * A Father to His Men: Both Achilles and Hector.
 * The Film of the Book
 * Flaunting Your Fleets: the scene of the allied Greek fleet.
 * Foe-Tossing Charge: Ajax vs. horse. Any horse.
 * Giant Mook: Boagrius! Played by Nathan Jones, who seems to specialize in this.
 * The Good Chancellor: Nestor
 * Grey and Grey Morality: Neither side is particularly virtuous, with Agamemnon simply using Helen to justify the war and Menelaus clearly cared for her only as a trophy wife while Paris was a scrupulous womanizer who knew what the consequences would be for taking Helen. Much of the Trojan royal court and military is dismissive of the war and the fact of people dying just because they believe the Gods will allow them to win. Hector and Odysseus are the only people who come across as noble and respectful at all times, while Achilles is generally portrayed as better than most of the royal Greeks.
 * Have I Mentioned I Am Heterosexual Today?: It is repeatedly emphasized that Achilles and Patroclus have a close relationship because they are COUSINS. Which they were in the Iliad, too. Whether or not the two were actually lovers in a sexual sense has been controversial for 2,400 years, in a debate that goes back at least as far as Classical Athens.
 * Regardless of the intent of the source material, the movie's slightly awkward belaboring of the point that they're COUSINS DAMMIT falls squarely under this trope - since the goal seems to be to avert even the possibility that they could be less than 100% heterosexual.
 * Technically, they were half-cousins. It just didn't matter to the Greeks. Achilles' womanizing is also accurate to the original stories, where much of the plot is motivated by Achilles' desire for various women as well as men: he lusted after Penthesilea, Queen of the Hot Amazon women from Ethiopia, in a subplot that shall sadly be missed.
 * Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Averted, for the most part, then enforced when Achilles fights Hector, as the former knows the latter killed his cousin because said cousin was disguised as Achilles. As they're squaring off, Achilles removes his helmet with, "Now you know who you're fighting."
 * Hero of Another Story: Odysseus, obviously.
 * Hey, It's That Guy! / Role Association: Legolas and Bridget von Hammersmark start a war that involves Lawrence of Arabia and Bruce Banner vs William Stryker and Mad Eye Moody. Meanwhile Tyler Durden becomes a war hero and falls in love with Moira MacTaggert while Boromir narrates.
 * Honor Before Reason: Priam (and to a lesser extent Hector). This is really in the culture.
 * Hubris
 * Idiot Ball: The Trojan priests.
 * I Have You Now, My Pretty: "Perhaps I'll have her give me a bath."
 * Implacable Man: Ajax with a shield.
 * Informed Attractiveness: Inevitable since Diane Kruger got cast as Helen of Troy. Nobody thinks she's unattractive, but opinions on her vary from "drop-dead gorgeous" to "lovely, but she'll probably disappoint SOMEONE."
 * Diane Kruger is lovely but Helen of Troy was more than a face. She was a woman of considerable wit and charisma as well - at least in the Iliad.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: One of the more well done parts of the film is Achilles as this trope. He is arrogant, often rude, selfish, and impatient, but on the other hand, he genuinely seems to respect women (or at least Briseis), he values honor above all, and he cares about the men who serve alongside him and under his command. The character is actually much more sympathetic than in the source material it takes its inspiration from.
 * The Juggernaut: Achilles. Moreso in the Iliad where he's about to break down the walls of Troy and defeat the Trojans single-handedly.
 * Also, he wrestled a RIVER GOD. And won.
 * Karma Houdini:
 * Achilles is an shameless Jerkass, causing the pain and misery of many innocent people, including unarmed priests. He never does anything to pay for any of this, and he almost never suffers for his flaws, which makes him annoying for some viewers. Instead of suffering, he gets a woman's love without deserving it. The fact that Briseis still cared about Achilles romantically after he killed Hector is ridiculous. It doesn't help that Achilles's death is rather peaceful.
 * Though again chalk this up to Values Dissonance, what we see as deplorable behavior was consider virtuous in its day.
 * By provoking the war, Paris indirectly gets his father, brother and most of his kingdom massacred. Although he gets his comeuppance in the source material, the movie doesn't include this (probably because the guy who kills him in the source material was a victim of major Continuity Lock Out).
 * The fact that 1) the writers didn't follow his death in Iliad; and 2) that no one managed to kill the flimsy little prince despite the numerous chances to do it, has become a bit of an annoyance for some people.
 * Kill Me Now or Forever Stay Your Hand: Achilles to Briseis. More like "kill me or have sex with me, your choice." Seeing as it's Brad Pitt her choice was not surprisingly the latter.
 * Knight Templar Big Brother: Both Achilles and Hector to their younger cousin and brother respectively.
 * Achilles doesn't take his eventual failure of this trope very well at all.
 * Large Ham: Brian Cox out-hams Brendan Gleeson. He taught an entire generation of filmgoers how to spell AGAMEMNON! by helpfully shouting it at key points in the film. Not a complaint, mind you...
 * In interviews, you can see him grinning like a kid in a candy store throughout the shoot. Though some of his lines are straight from the Iliad itself.
 * Don't forget the moment right after Menelaus dies. You can see Brian Cox's face almost literally turn about eight shades of red as he screams for his soldiers to fight.
 * Last Stand: Glaucus.

"Boy: The Thessalonian you're fighting... he's the biggest man I've ever seen. *I* wouldn't want to fight him.... Achilles: And that is why no one will remember your name. Boy: (looks teary-eyed at the camera for the last time as Achilles rides off)"
 * Leeroy Jenkins: Technically, Achilles and the Myrmidons do this when the Greeks first reach Troy. They're awesome enough that, despite a copious helping of Hollywood Tactics, they actually succeed.
 * Lock and Load Montage: Achilles and Hector prepare to battle each other. Doubles as a Shirtless Scene.
 * Mercy Kill: Hector vs. Patroclus after he discovers it's not Achilles. This is a bit of Values Dissonance from the Iliad, where Patroclus is older and Hector attempts to steal Achilles' armor!
 * Mickey Mousing: James Horner's score during the climactic duel; Gabriel Yared's rejected score during the first fight.
 * Nay Theist: Achilles (film only). See The Fatalist, above.
 * Nigh Invulnerable: Achilles.
 * No Bisexuals: Achilles was Ambiguously Bi in the original story, to the point of Lampshade Hanging; a not-so-uncommon thing with Ancient Greek warriors. The film downplays his relationship with Patroclus and plays up his relationship with Briseis.
 * Forget that, the entire movie conveniently skirted around any guy/guy text or subtext. I mean, they literally cut it out of the culture (along with many other things...). Really, yes we know Hollywood don't play things historically (or canonically) accurate, but... come on.
 * Not Even Bothering with the Accent: As a review on IMDB put it, "Congratulations Sean Bean, for making me realize Odysseus was actually a native of Sheffield." But no one else in the cast seems to bother, either. Weirdly, it still kind of works - the most jarring voice is that of American Brad Pitt, compared to his mostly British, Scottish, Irish, and Australian co-stars.
 * It is not like the target audience (and probably not anyone else) actually has the slightest idea what Bronze Age Greeks sounded like, and American actors trying to sound like modern Greeks would have just been absurd.
 * Offhand Backhand: Achilles' fighting style.
 * Old Shame: Peter O'Toole, often considered one of the greatest actors ever, considers this to be his very worst film.
 * There is an interview (whose source escapes me now) where he said not that it was his worst film, but that the experience of making this film was the worst of his career, due to an acrimonious relationship between himself and the director. He also said that he's never watched the film as a result.
 * Peter O'Toole was also in Caligula. 'Nuff said.
 * One-Man Army: Achilles' 300-esque assault on the beach. Of course, it's freaking Achilles.
 * The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Sort of. "Go back to your woman and tomorrow we'll have our war... It's too early in the day for killing princes."
 * Basically, he was averting an anticlimax.
 * Only Sane Man: Hector on one side, Odysseus on the other. They only meet for about fifteen seconds, but the respect is instant.
 * Ordinary High School Student: Aeneas is just a teen, which is why he flees with the Sword of Troy rather than protect Troy to the end. In the Iliad, he was Troy's best warrior after Hector and his fate is unknown, leaving room for a Sequel Hook in The Aeneid.
 * Pet the Dog: After demonstrating just how much of a Jerkass he can be at his worst (by showing the least possible respect to an opponent who fought honorably), Achillles lets King Priam take back Hector's body, give him a proper burial and promises that no Greek will attack Troy for the 12 day funeral rites to be properly performed. He also tells the King that Hector was the best warrior he had ever fought and frees Briseis to him.
 * Playing Against Type: Orlando Bloom, at the time primarily known for playing badass elf Legolas, here plays wimpy spoiled brat Paris. His character is treated to the LEAST badass and most humiliating beatdown in the film. YMMV whether Bloom succeeded or not. At least he used a bow-and-arrow....
 * Sean Bean, playing Odysseus. Sean Bean was in a movie and his character didn't die! Which is a notable break in the pattern! Didn't turn evil before the end, either.
 * Prescience Is Predictable: "One day I will look upon your corpse and smile!" Also, Achilles' mom, the sea-nymph Thetis. And the Trojan priests, oddly enough.
 * The Queen's Latin: With the exception of Achilles, who has a peculiar mid-Atlantic accent, fully enforced. Eric Bana and Rose Byrne don't seem to be using their native accents either.
 * Rape, Pillage and Burn: "BURN! BURN TROY!" Troy gets this treatment at the end.
 * The Director's Cut takes it to a Complete Monster level.
 * Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Achilles goes on one of these against Hector after learning of.
 * Rousing Speech: Each of the major characters gets at least one, even Glaucus. Well, except Paris.
 * Rule of Cool: Historically inaccurate, but what the heck.
 * Sadly Mythtaken: Sort of. While the Greek gods don't appear directly as in the original, the statue of Apollo looks distinctly Mesopotamian.
 * Probably referencing Greece's relative cultural dependence on Egypt at the time; Troy was a Hittite dependency, and we don't know if it was a "Mycenaean" kingdom or not. You'd think the Greek structures would look more like those of Knossos, though.
 * The carved statues outside of the Temple of Apollo are Egyptian right down to the pastiche beards: interestingly, they're still done wrong, as their left feet are shown to be forward, signifying divine mortals instead of gods.
 * Say My Name: "AGA-memnon!" "Ach-ILLES!"
 * "Hector! Hector! Hector!"... and on and on.
 * Scenery Porn: The city of Troy before the war begins... just beautiful...
 * Shell-Shocked Veteran: Achilles. He seems to have found a way to cope with it, but mentions that he sees his victims waiting for him in the Underworld in his dreams.
 * Shining City: Troy, especially during Helen's arrival.
 * Shirtless Scene: You could say there was... one or two.
 * Wait, does a leather breastplate count as a shirt?
 * Shout-Out: Now, it's kind of a given that the original Achilles was smitten with glory and fame and all that but Achilles' repeated declarations of immortality and posthumous recognition seemed to have been put there mostly for the savvy viewers' benefit.
 * Shrouded in Myth: Most of Achilles' origins is fabricated.
 * Silly Reason for War: "I suppose love is a better reason than all the rest."
 * Single-Stroke Battle: Achilles vs. Boagrius (almost everyone he fights, really.) Then he walks away.
 * Skyward Scream Agamemnon's Signal: To charge.
 * Priam Watching Troy Burn. "Have you no honor? Have you no HONOR!!!"
 * Spared by the Adaptation: Paris and Astyanax
 * Sword and Sandal: Wolfgang Peterson said he wanted it to be a throwback to classic sword-n-sandal films like Spartacus.
 * And it was a success up to a point. Large Ham, Badass fights, stars in period clothing. Just needed some writing polish.
 * Sword Fight: Considered one of the best Sword Fights on film (Achilles vs. Hector) even by people who hate the film.) And the spear duel that preceded the sword fight was pretty memorable too.
 * Certainly the best swordfight not involving a katana. Had a gritty realism sense to it, despite being all Hollywood action.
 * Sword of Plot Advancement: The Sword of Troy.
 * Sticks to the Back: Achilles' shield, most of the time.
 * Teeth Flying: Paris manages to knock a tooth loose from Menelaus, the only good jab he gets in the fight.
 * Trademark Finisher: Achilles' "Superman jump."
 * Trojan Horse: Check. In this version it's made out of the charred remains of a trireme, so it has a Darker and Edgier look.
 * Minus the charring, that's pretty much where the lumber is always said to come from. The empty ships that the diminished number of Greeks couldn't sail home.
 * Tempting Fate
 * This Is Sparta: "Immortality! Take it! It's YOURS!!!!"
 * Then Every... Son of Troy... Shall DIE!!
 * But the GODS... Favor ONLY!! THE STRONG!!!
 * This Loser Is You


 * Thwarted Coup De Grace: Menelaus vs. Paris.
 * Too Dumb to Live: Achilles is warned that he shouldn't offend the Sun God known as Apollo. Seconds later, he decapitates the Statue of Apollo, which shows the god as an archer. If the viewers imagine that the Gods are actually influencing the events of the movie, then Achilles pretty much signed his death warrant, resulting in Apollo using Paris's arrows to kill Achilles.
 * To the Pain: Achilles' promise to Hector.
 * Unflinching Walk: Achilles after dispatching enemies; he doesn't look back. See Single-Stroke Battle.
 * Prone to breaking out the walk in mid-battle during the lulls, too.
 * Watching Troy Burn: Trope Namer.
 * Walking Shirtless Scene: Achilles.
 * War Was Beginning: Opens over a map.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist: Paris. And how!
 * The Worf Effect: Inverted with Boagrius, who shows up only to prove how badass Achilles is.
 * World of Ham: Peter O'Toole, Brian Cox, Brendan Gleeson and even Brad Pitt all seem to be competing in a scenery-devouring contest.
 * World's Most Beautiful Woman: Subverted in that Agamemnon is not so much interested in Helen as he is in Troy.
 * Worthy Opponent: Hector considers Achilles to be this. Achilles does not agree until later. Also Hector vs. Ajax (in The Iliad).
 * Not so much Worthy Opponent. Hector is SCARED of Achilles. That's the ONLY person in the movie who scares him. Everyone else is a challenge, Achilles is DEATH come to collect you.
 * You Can't Fight Fate: Lampshaded.
 * There Is Only One Possible Outcome in a Greek story. Even if you have American actors, or conflicting source material, the narrator and characters in each version of the story will agree that their outcome could not have happened any other way, and the characters forsee it. See The Fatalist, above.
 * Zen Survivor: Achilles. "At night, I see the faces of all the men I've killed. They're waiting for me on the other side of the River Styx. They say, 'Welcome, Brother'".