A Fantastic Movie!

Rating: 8/10 (18 March 2005)

Of course, if you're going to nitpick about all the differences between "Troy" and the original version of the story, you probably won't like it. IMO I thought this was a great movie. Taking out the Greek gods was a very good move on the crew's part. What did they really add to the story except to make it more complicated? Plus, taking out the gods gave the movie a better sense of historical authenticity and, if the Trojan War truly did happen, the movie's version could very well be closer to the actual Trojan War than "The Iliad".
I was very happy that they showed Helen in the movie. It just wouldn't have worked if Helen was not there or if she was present but never spoke a word. From the way the story is told, most viewers are expected to sympathise with the Trojans, so the audience must see the love between Paris and Helen in order not to completely hate Paris for bringing this war to Troy, which would lead to Hector's death and the destruction of the city. At least seeing Paris and Helen together could help the audience understand better their motives for doing what they did. However, I would have liked to see a bit more remorse coming from Paris, especially at the end, especially since his relationship to Helen led to his older brother being killed. Before they showed Achilles' funeral, they should have had some sort of better resolution between Paris and Helen over what their little love triangle caused.
All the characters were very likable in the story. Except I did not really see the point of Briseis. If she wasn't in "The Iliad", the directors shouldn't have added her in, and if she was, she should have been left out. The relationship added nothing to the story, but the writers seemed to try to make the Briseis and Achilles storyline a big deal in the end, and it didn't work for me.
In the end, this is a wonderful movie if you are into history, or you like action movies.