It's not often that a big-screen epic is not as good as it's TV counterpart

Rating: 6/10 (9 January 2005)

I hate to say it, but TV's recent "Helen of Troy" was a better portrayal of the Trojan War, recounting it far more accurately (though not totally correct, of course).
"Troy" starts off on the wrong foot by setting Paris up in the story incorrectly, his origin and place in the kingdom of Troy forsaken to have him more easily seen as a noble prince. Moreover, the entire catalyst for the war was dismissed - the Apple of Discord and the Judgement of Paris were non-existent. Such omission is forgivable if filmmakers wanted to steer away from the fantastic elements of myth; however, Thetis, an immortal Nereid (sea nymph), was included in the movie (she is the mother of Achilles). So, the 'taint' of myth was already present.
The movie's second major error was the omission of pivotal characters, namely Hecabe (Queen of Troy); Cassandra (Trojan Princess whose prophecies went unheeded); Laocoön (Trojan seer silenced by Poseidon); and Clytemnestra (Helen's sister and vengeful wife of Agamemnon). The absence of the latter led to a wrongfully depicted murder at the movie's end (other deaths were incorrect as well).
A more understandable error was the use of the name Ajax - that name is Latin for the Greek warrior Aias. The name was probably used, though, because it is more familiar (as is the common mistake of using the name Hercules, the more recognizable Latin name of the Greek hero Heracles).
The other major flaw of the story was the absence of Achilles' origin. With Thetis present in the movie, the hero's dipping in the river Styx after birth should have been mentioned, even if Achilles himself were to not believe it. Its absence, however, makes his death in the film seem ludicrous - when Paris shoots him in his foot, he falls as the myth details, but to the viewers that do not know the myth, they wouldn't see the significance of it.
Craft-wise, the movie was excellently executed. The only major flaw was bad performances from usually phenomenal actors. One example is how certain actors (Gleeson, Kruger, etc) allowed their accents to slip through. On the other hand, the best performance in the film goes to Eric Bana as Hector, Prince of Troy. Despite his initial haughty dialogue, he comes across as the film's saving grace. Brad Pitt's turn as Achilles was all right (as was Rose Byrne's Briseïs and Saffron Burrows' Andromache), but the film would have been purely superficial were it not for Bana.
It was also nice to see Sean Bean in an admirable role. He is too often the villain (even as Boromir in "Lord of the Rings" he had a villainous streak to him). I can't say the same for Brian Cox, though. He was still a villain.