Fulfillment of the main issue

Rating: 10/10 (16 May 2004)

First two hexameters of Homer`s Iliad are the main point of this heroic-epic story, and this is the Achilles`s ANGER, which is the essential part of his character and his very doom. According to this, as the second hexameter told us, he was the one who put all the host of Achaeans (not Spartans, yet!) in many of the troubles. Homer`s Iliad described just about 20 days of the Troy war, which lasted 10 years, and it was the last year of war (Agamemnon and Odysseus mentioned they`re abiding on the shores before Troy a full 9 years, since they left Peloponeses). Somewhere in the middle of this story we can reveal the cause of this war - Alexandar-Paris took from Menelaus his wife Helena, which shows that she was dwelt in Troy for 9 years, ere all those things happened Homer telling us. The Achaean host actually waited and dwelt before the strong walls of the city of Troy and it`s destroying, for full 10 years (remember that Odysseus was apart from his kingdom on Ithaca for 20 years, 10 in Troy war and 10 in his wanderings - "Odyssey"). The death of Achilles we can recognize only in Hector`s prophecy words while he was dying, told to Achilles alone, that he will be slain by Paris. Also, Agamemnon (son of Atreus) the king of Mycenae, was nothing else but the first between the equals in that time (bronze age of Aegea), so Achilles had no any obligations or obedience to him, he was free to release his anger and to follow his doom defined by gods. There are only 4 great battles in Iliad, including one-on-one between Hector and Achilles, as the crucial one. Now, Hector, noble too, had completely opposite character, but in the very first of meeting the Achilles he fled before him and after their running around walls of Troy (3 circles they ran) Hector finally decided to confront Achilles. Nevertheless, Hector was the greatest hero of Troy indeed, for he knew Achilles is invulnerable, given to him by Nymphes and gods, but he was farsighted, knowing Paris would shoot the Achilles`s only weak spot, so he excepted his own doom, to be slain by Achilles. All the gods were directly involved in this war, by love, or hate, or by cunning.
So, Wolfgang Petersen made a great movie, for the main issue of the Iliad, ACHILLES ANGER, is fulfilled in his excellent deed.
Brad Pitt is wonderful Achilles, the right one (Homer ever called Achilles handsome and blond)), so, Brad, I don`t know if you like this roll or not, but you was born to act the Achilles, as Viggo Mortensen was so to act the Aragorn (I don`t want to compare the actors!). Splendid.
Eric Bana is so noble and valiant, but full of sorrow and love, care and loyalty. In Iliad Hector was similar. Bravo.
Brian Cox, well done, though Agamemnon was a bit more cunning and he gave up Briseis much earlier (she was Achilles slave and lover before Agamemnon took her from Achilles, the reason for the one of the first arguing of these two men, and the cause of all the further troubles in the last year of war).
Orlando Bloom is no one else, but Paris, young, a bit spoiled, but his courage grows as the time passes during war, his love for Helena as well. Orlando`s acting satisfied the Paris`s character, the intact mimics of his face, especially.
Sean Bean as Odysseus is brilliant, acting wise but cunning man, opened to the others, but hidden in his minds, as Odysseus was indeed.
Now, there are some unclear things. First is that Ajax (the Big Ajax, there are two with the same name in Iliad)is in the battle changed with Diomed, it`s confusing one person with another. Second confusion, more exactly of the rolls in movie, considers Briseis. She was Achilles`s lover, the war "trophy" from the city of Lyrnes (Lirnes), long before Troy war and she never was one of the virgins of Apollo`s shrine near Troy, but it was Kasandra, Priam`s daughter, sister of Hector and Paris, who was farsighted (a gift to her from Apollo alone) and she was the very person who foretell all the troubles in Troy and the final destroying of the city and Priam`s realm, forever. In a movie it is a big mistake. Where is Kasandra, anyway?
Yet, I voted 10, for this movie by itself is the great one, perfect done. All the details (costumes, tools and weapons, ships etc.) are very convenient. Excavations of built levels of Troy shows that the levels VI or VIIa might be the Priam`s realm, so the costumes and tools I mentioned are well reconstructed, considering the artifacts from those levels, also they`re of the same kind with those in Agamemnon`s Mycaena, from the same period.
Congratulations!