Beautiful

Rating: 8/10 (22 May 2004)

Granted, this is not entirely like The Iliad and the first part of The Odyssey, but it is still a wonderful film. Wolfgang Peterson strikes gold again with this epic.
Acting - Top notch cast, and it delivers almost on all levels. Brad Pitt is elegant and brutal as Achilles. Peter O'Toole haunts the screen as Priam. Diane Kruger is great as Helen. Brian Cox is deliciously over the top as Agammemnon. Brendan Gleason needed more screentime as Menelaus. Sean Bean fit Odysseus perfectly. And Orlando Bloom...sigh...he couldn't act to save his life. And Eric Bana...the perfect Hector. All the other non-big names that had screentime were great.
Cinematography - Absolutely brilliant. The wide landscapes, the oceanscape, everything is utterly beautiful and clean. I've not seen this kind of filming in a long time.
Directing/Writing - Wolfgang Peterson is a god. Very well written, and the direction is fantastic. I cannot begin to describe how well it was done.
Music - Absolutely fantastic. THe way the music was turned down during battles reminded me of Saving Private Ryan, and it forced you to focus on the battles themselves. Spoiler - The fight between Hector and Achilles is the absolute BEST delivery ever.
Overall this is a great movie. The ending is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too quick. Spoiler - I wanted more of the siege of Troy. Not perfect, but great nonetheless. 9 outta 10