Helen has the face that launched a thousand ships, but this story isn't really about her, except in a small way. The story is of course about Troy, the city to which Paris (Orlando Bloom) takes Helen when they fall in love and Paris hides her aboard a ship when they leave to return to Troy.
Unfortunately when Helen's husband Menelaus finds out that she's gone, stolen by a much younger man, he's not happy about it - and his brother, Agamemnon just happens to be the king, which means that he just might be able to do something about it. So the two enlist the aid of Achilles (Brad Pitt), the best fighter the world has ever seen, to go get her back. Here's where the thousand ships come in, as they set sail for Troy.
Speaking of Troy, her walls have never been breached, so when fifty thousand Greeks approach the beach, the Trojans are understandably less than concerned. But when the foremost ship, helmed by Achilles and a few of his men, take the beach and the temple of Apollo, all by themselves, they start to get alarmed, for the rest of the Greeks now have a beachhead from which to launch their attacks. It is a sort of Normandy, a thousand years (or more) before Normandy.
Unfortunately, Agamemnon and Achilles don't get along. Agamemnon isn't a very good king, and Achilles is out for his glory - no Agamemnon's. So when the king wants to attack for his own glory, Achilles stands back, and many Greeks fall. Then the Trojans press their advantage and it seems like they may ultimately win.
Achilles has a young cousin who wants to fight however, and one day he sneaks into battle by wearing Achilles' armor, and gets himself killed. That is to the downfall of Troy, as it just gets Achilles mad. He is a stand-up guy, however, and he calls out Hector, the Trojan prince, and battles him in one-on-one combat. For my money, this is the best scene in the movie, as it lets you see the work that went into creating the fight scenes. The others just have too much going on.
In any case, Achilles wins, and drags the body of Hector back to the beach behind his chariot. This does not amuse the king of Troy, who sneaks into see Achilles and ask for the body of his son so that he can get a proper burial. Impress by a "real" king, Achilles grants him his wish. t infuriates Agamemnon that Achilles would make such a deal behind his back, but there is little he can do.
The big ending comes when the Greeks pretend to leave and sneak a few men into the city through their departing "gift" - the Trojan Horse. Paris, who has been mostly silent, suggest burning the horse on the beach, but the king brings the horse into the city and after nightfall, the men inside get out to open the gates, which lets in all the Greeks waiting outside.
I have no idea if the details are accurate, but it's a good movie. There are very few flaws in it from a storytelling perspective - one shot looks like midgets running (likely a camera angle) and the tale in general flows very well, which is a difficult task for such a long movie (see Alexander).
Rated R for graphic violence and some sexuality/nudity.
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