Enjoyable film, but a bit flat on historical perspective

Rating: 7/10 (17 May 2004)

I think if I saw this film again, I would like it more. I also think that if I didn't know the Greek/Roman myths and hadn't actually READ Homer, I would like this film more. Without listing any spoilers, I felt the end of this movie was misleading and reaching, and even a bit cheesy.
The things that I did like were the humanization of Achilles and the depiction of Hector as a great man, not just a hero. The performances of both Brad Pitt and Eric Bana were strong. The battles and fight scenes were also excellent. Of the women, I especially enjoyed Rose Byrne's portrayal of Briseis. Worth the $7.75 investment? I thought it was worth the money, but it's not up to par with other great epics, like Lawrence of Arabia. It is on par with Elizabeth Taylor's Cleopatra, though I think I enjoyed this historical representation better than Cleopatra. This movie's 2 hr and 50 minute run is mostly story - for better or worse, not a lot of time was spent on pageantry or dancing-girl sequences, though there is some of both.
The screenwriter had a kind of a revisionist view of the dependence on signs from the gods - it makes Priam look stupid when showing him as the only leader of the time who looked to the Heavens for direction, listening to his priests before his sons. I'm sure that the successes and failures on either side of the beach weren't this clear-cut, but then again, this film does not promise to be anything more than fiction and it is just a movie.