Not as bad as I expected.

Rating: Null/10 (10 June 2004)

Let me just say that this is my first film review so hopefully I don't embarrass myself too much in the process (sorry for the size).
**** Some Spoilers Exist ****
OK, I must admit that I went into the movie having already read some reviews of the movie from this site. Most of the reviews at the time were not very complimentary. The things people were most harsh on were: -
The script  the story line is far too different to Homer's Iliad. Brad Pitt. Orlando Bloom. Diane Kruger.
With that in mind, I really didn't expect a whole lot out of the movie when I went to see it, so it is probably this reason why I actually found it reasonably entertaining (note that I said REASONABLY entertaining).
For the most part the movie kept me interested. The cinematography in parts was very ordinary (so I did find it amazing that some reviewers said they thought it was good!  One person even suggested it was worthy of an Oscar Please!!) And the musical score to be fair wasn't much better. I thought at times when the music needed to be heavy it was light, and when it needed to be light it was heavy (pardon my very simplistic way of putting it!).
The script was terrible in parts  but there was enough in there to keep me interested. I can understand writing out the role of the gods (which in Homer's works were the principal reasons behind the Trojan war) to simplify the whole story, thus appealing to a greater audience. I can even understand why he reduced the size of the war so that it would fit in the one movie (although a two week war is hard to sell as an epic)  but Achilles being in the Trojan horse!!! I had trouble accepting that, and it did leave a nasty taste in the mouth once the movie was over. And the scene when Paris shot Achilles looked as though it was written as an afterthought.
I can just see them thinking 'Oh yeah, best not forget to put in the movie somewhere that Achilles gets shot'.
And as for the actors: Brad Pitt was better then I expected him to be. After reading a lot of reviews I wasn't expecting much out of his performance but I thought he did the job OK.
Eric Bana was fantastic as Hector. You actually felt sorry for him the whole movie knowing he was going to die. You almost wished that script had been modified so that he would live after the battle with Achilles (why not, they changed everything else!!). The fight scene with Brad Pitt was very well done and worth the admission ticket alone.
Sean Bean was also terrific, as where Peter O'Toole, Rose Byrne and Brian Cox (although I read from someone that they didn't like Brian Cox's performance  I thought this is a bit harsh as I found his portrayal of Agamemnon to be very good).
Diane Kruger was not good at all. She is a very attractive woman and not a bad actor, but she was not the right choice as Helen. She doesn't have the look of someone who would entice men to start an epic two-week war in order to win her heart, let alone a 10-year one as in the Iliad. In my mind Helen needs to not only be attractive, she has to be Sexy, and I mean REAL sexy. A woman doesn't have to be drop dead gorgeous to be sexy. Sexy is all about attitude, the way you conduct yourself, the way you walk, mannerisms etc. A real sexy woman makes men's blood boil and makes them do stupid things (like drag you across the Aegean Sea to Troy). Diane Kruger was not sexy in this movie, and I think that the part of Helen needed to have someone who was that type.
Orlando Bloom. DAMN!!!! You were terrible! In his defense I don't think the script did him a lot of favors. When I heard him say, 'We can live off the land, I can hunt rabbit' I fell off the seat and just about p***ed my pants I was laughing so hard. Even though Paris was supposed to be wimpy and hated by the audience, I thought his acting skills were the reason that everyone hated him, not his character's cowardness.
As I said though, this movie is worth a look, just don't go into the movie thinking you are about to see LOTR. I would give it a 6.5 out of 10.