Hollywood Takes On Homer

Rating: 7/10 (24 February 2005)

The ancient Greek epic has been tackled on film before. During the wake of television, big sandal-and-sword epics were made to draw back audiences to the movie theaters. Today, big epics are little more than curiosity films. This version of Homer's Iliad is pure Hollywood. There is no accuracy to the original legends and even worse some things have been changed. Brad Pitt makes an unconvincing Achilles- cast simply because he's Brad Pitt, a sex icon. One would have hoped Wolfgang Petersen cast "The Rock" wrestler Wayne something or other or Kevin Zorbo who portrayed Hercules in the 90's series. But there are moments when Brad Pitt captures the spoiled, arrogant and military attitude of Achilles. I would say he is doing the best job of the bunch, despite the miscast. Helen as a willing participant in her own abduction is accurate, at least. But she and the other women in the film are simply prizes to be won and objects of beauty. The story is mostly about the men of the age- Achilles, the greedy and imperious prick King Menelaus, Hector and King Agammemnon. There is much license taken from the actual legends. It moves too fast and for one thing Briceis was never a true love of Achilles- simply one of his last "war prizes". She kills Agammemnon when it's supposed to be someone else in the original epic, I believe his wife Clymanestra who had taken on a new lover.
Even if the content is glamorized or romanticized, the visuals and cinematography are incredible. The look of the film is great. The big crowd scenes, battle scenes, the city of Troy, the Trojan Horse, the temples with statues of the gods, all very great touches. The gods, though, never interfere themselves with this war, though in the Iliad they were a strong part of the war, even championing both sides. For fans of epics like this this is a terrific movie. Brad Pitt as Achilles is acceptable dramatically, especially in his scene with Peter O'Toole. That scene is the best that both men have done so far. Troy was the more successful of the recent ancient epics, among them Alexander which failed. Making a special appearance as Achilles' mother is veteran British actress Julie Christie, who once portrayed Lara in Doctor Zhivago. This is a very action-packed and even violent film, but at the time it was paired with Passion Of The Christ and so probably no one noticed. But it's a film to be viewed by young adults or mature audiences.