Good for the eyes, bad for the brain

Rating: 5/10 (22 June 2004)

Nice battle scenes, fair acting qualities, but a terrible story.
Had Petersen just taken Homer's lead, I would rate this movie 9 out of 10. Leave out the gods and it may still be 8. Instead, this is a "hollywoodisation" of the Iliad. Those parts which fit (Achilles conflict with Agamemnon, although overdone) were kept, those which didn't were invented. Imagine: Paris killing Achilles!
As mainstream cinema demands, love story's had to be added or extended, a baby's blue eyes (in this case Hector's) appear every other minute, and battles had to be beefed up: If you don't like divine intervention (because it looks unrealistic and makes the "historical accuracy" (lol) questionable, just add explosive fireballs.