Worse than awful

Rating: 1/10 (17 May 2004)

One of the worst movies I've ever seen. I laughed through much of it. The sight of Brad Pitt sword-fighting like he's in a Kung Fu movie made me howl with every pose. Since when is ancient Greek sword fighting akin to East Asian martial arts?
The 9 or 10 year Trojan War is condensed to about 2 weeks. And Achilles, who had a male lover in Homer's epic about the Trojan War, is made safely hetero for the homophobic audiences of our modern age. Achilles (in the real story) refused to fight at one point, and was only convinced to return to the battle when his lover, Patroclus, was killed by Hector. In the movie none of these key facts even exist. The story is totally re-written.
There's way too much graphic violence. Way too little story. And way too many errors in what little story there is. Forget this one. Wait to see if Oliver Stone does a better job with his epic on Alexander the Great and ignore this Hollywood farce.