More about the gods.

Rating: 8/10 (6 June 2005)

If you know nothing about the history behind the movie then you will be able to enjoy it. But I doubt that there are many people who don't. Even if you never read the Iliad, you probably heard the story of Troy.
The movie is well done. Nice settings, nice costumes. I can say that they managed to get the major elements of that era. But the characters and the story are not the way they are supposed to be. First of all there was nothing about the gods, who were very much involved in the war on both sides. And what about the fact that Achilles was immortal, and the only spot where he could be killed was his heel? There were so many great parts of the story that they could've incorporated in the movie. Like for example, when Hector went to fight Achilles, knowing that he was going to die, or what about Achilles who had to choose between fame, followed by an early death or a long life without glory. The portrayal of Achilles, besides the non-mentioning of his immortality, is fairly accurate. He was a great warrior and very cruel, especially after the death of Patrocles, but he did became a nicer person when Priam came to him to ask for Hector's body, because Priam reminded him of his own father. In the real story, Priam was actually sent by the god Hermes to Achilles because the gods were very mad at Achilles for not allowing Hector's body to be buried, and also because the gods, especially Zeus, liked Hector very much and at one point he was even thinking about changing his fate but then he was reminded by Athena that he can't do that.
The portrayal of Paris is by far the worst. I mean, yeah Paris wasn't a very good fighter but he wasn't the wuss they made him look like. According to the Iliad, it's the gods who saved Paris from the fight with Menelaus. And they could've mentioned a bit more about the causes of the war. I mean yeah, the main reason was the kidnap of Helen, but there was more to it than that. Paris had to choose between 3 goddesses, and when he chose Aphrodite, she gave him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen. So basically it wasn't all Paris' fault for the war.
One thing they didn't explain was the beauty of Helen. I mean why was she the most beautiful woman in the world and desired by all men? It was because she was the only daughter of Zeus. That's part of the whole no-gods-involved extravaganza.
Also, when the Greeks manage to get inside Troy, Menelaus goes after Helen wanting to kill her, but when he finds her, she shows him her beautiful body and he can't do it and so she goes back with him to Sparta and they live happily together.
This story is a great one and they could've followed it more, although I know that many movies are not historically accurate. But my opinion is that if they would've involved the gods in the movie, it would've been much better, since there is no Greek myth in which the gods were not involved.
If you wanna see Brad Pitt in a skirt and fighting like a great Greek warrior, looking absolutely great, then you should go see this movie. If you know the whole story, you will be a bit disappointed.