American failure

Rating: 1/10 (6 July 2012)

This film fails on just about every level imaginable. It's supposedly "inspired by" the Iliad (and the Aeneiad) but the end result has absolutely nothing to do with Greek myth. Indeed, it's easier to make a list of the plot points that follow the Iliad myth, because it's going to be much shorter than the list of points when the movie deviates from it for no reason.
For those who claim that it is a realist take on the story, no - it's not, because not only does it have nothing to do with Greek myth, it also has nothing to do with Greek culture or Greek history. What we actually get is a bunch of Americans prancing about it what is supposed to pass as ancient Greek clothes, but would only fool Americans with no insight into Ancient civilizations. There is no sense of the Greek culture worked, and thus character actions that are supposed to understood in the light of that culture lack substantially in the emotional impact they should have. Achilles' treatment of Hector's body is a case in point. Likewise the complete lack of displaying Greek warrior culture - there is just the one token challenge to setup Achilles as a kick-ass fighter, and no phalanxes, the warriors just rush each other in big, disorganized rabbles, Hollywood style.
The social context is mutilated, too. Agamemnon, for instance, is reduced to a simple, powerhungry king who supposedly has conquered all of Greece? Really? Ever heard of the era of city states? Only those who have no knowledge of Greek myth, history or culture might be able to enjoy this, and then only because it keeps spoonfeeding them with American storytelling tropes. Shame on Hollywood for treating one of the most culturally significant myths in the history of storytelling in this trite fashion.