Ignore the Cassandras. This Film is Brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (3 March 2005)

Once again legions of moaners pull down a great film. It's so easy to attack Aunt Sallys like Brad Pitt. The poor guy can't do anything right can he ? I ignored the vitriol and bought his movie. Because I loved Pitt in 12 Monkeys, loved Peterson's Das Boot and have loved Homer for 25 years. All the central performances were good. Cox's hollow Agamemnon, Pitt's doomed killing machine, Bean's world weary Oddyseus,Bana's nobility and especially O'Toole's pained and tortured Priam. As for it being untrue to the book - far from it, the film contained all the right bits and only ignored the boring stuff like the Games and unnecessary characters like Idomenous and Diomedes. To have left them in would have confused people. Peterson was so right in his condemnation of Agamemnon, and Briesis as the real tragic heroine of Troy was a novel twist.Where did they find Rose Byrne who played her? A future star for sure.