The LEAST Talented Filmmaker of All Time?
Well, there's been extensive discussion about the most talented filmmakers of all time... but after having watched Troy last night, I have to comment that Wolfgang Petersen is going in the wrong direction with his movies ever since he did the excellent Das Boot. I think that Troy is Petersen's worst work yet... Orlando Bloom was completely laughable with his portrayal of Paris (look beyond the pretty boy looks all you Bloomers... he was utterly mis-cast here), Brian Cox completely overracted, and way too many liberties were taken with the Trojan history. Even worse, I was completely devastated seeing Peter O'Toole's acting ability wasted in scenes with a Brad Pitt who didn't look like he had any desire to be on the set.
I'm not saying Petersen's at worst director level ever just yet (save that for Ed Wood), but if he keeps up at his current pace, he'll be working his way into that group very soon. Air Force One? The Perfect Storm? Outbreak? I would never have thought movies like these would have come from the same director as In The Line of Fire and Das Boot.
At any rate, I didn't want this to turn into a Troy review. I wanted to see if anyone was in agreement that Petersen needs a couple decent outputs to salvage his directorial reputation. He'll get his chance with Ender's Game in 2006... but I'm not holding my breath.