Extremely bad and disappointing

Rating: 1/10 (31 May 2004)

If a director makes a historical, or legendary, movie and most important, one of the first and most known literally pillars of western civilization, he has a responsibility to stay somewhat true to the story. Particularly if this is the only way of historical/literary information for most people.
In Troy, Petersen deviates so much that he just made an insult not only to the Iliad, but to the Odyssey and to Aeschylus and Euripides tragedies (Trojan Women, Agamemnon, etc.). These works together with the Aeneid of Virgil make up the complete Trojan legend. To mention some, Briseida has a protagonist role which not corresponds to the legend. According to Petersen, she kills Agamemnon; in fact he is murdered by his wife Clytemnestra upon return to Mycenae, along with Andromache (Hector widow). Contrary to the movie, Hector did not kill Menelaus. Menelaus took Helen back to Sparta. Hector did not kill Ajax; they finish their duel with reciprocal respect, interchanging presents. In the movie, the coward Paris lives happily with Helen, while really he is dead by the arrow by Philoctetes. An important and key character like Diomedes is totally missing. Achilles was killed one year before the fall of Troy, not at the war end, etc., etc., etc.
I did not touch the gods intervention, whose role in the Iliad are essential, to avoid further dilemmas and criticisms. Completely absent in the movie, with the exception of Tethis for a short and irrelevant participation.
Even if we concede 'some' deviations from the original work, the characters portrays are so weak and disappointed that they do not reflect the deepness and courage of the heroes and warriors, as explicitly presented in the Homeric Chants. In general, the movie is superficial, lacking driving force, especially from acting. Short dialogs, reduced to minimum expressions. Take as example the romance between Helen (last night was a mistake) and Paris (and the night before?); it is just fine for lousy melodramas. Battles are shot without essence and a notorious difference between Pitt and his stunt is presented along the 'drama'. The only exception may be Peter O'Toole (as king Priam), whose role may be adequate and who by chance, follows a more precise role as per the legend.
Some of my worst 3 hours wasted life-time. The movie is disappointing and bad reference for the subject. I should learn from the Perfect Storm.