Myth understanding

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2004)

SPOILER, assuming you don't know who won the Trojan War.
I haven't read The Iliad in decades, but wasn't Achilles invulnerable (like Superman), because as a baby he was dipped in the River Styx by his mother, except for one heel which she used to hold him? I am sure I am not making this up. So this means he would be incapable of being wounded (no lover would be able to cut his throat), and his mother would know about this quality. In this film, I am not sure anyone knew, or even if the invulnerability was a factor. The only blood I saw on Brad/Achilles was not his own.
No scars visible on the 98% of Brad's body we were shown. But wasn't Achilles killed by a poison arrow? In the heel? Achilles without a heel is like Cyrano without a nose.
It would have been interesting to explore the character of a brave warrior who knows he cannot be hurt. Is there any real bravery if you know you cannot be hurt? Patroclus stole Achilles' armor but could not steal Achilles' real protection. And how could Achilles hold Hector in such contempt if Achilles were indeed invulnerable, when Hector risked all and Achilles risked nothing?
The movie played as though invulnerability was not a factor. Maybe the movie makers decided to scrap the myth. But if Achilles was not invulnerable, his survival of countless battles without a scratch is totally ludicrous.