The reason we tell these tales over and over again is no accident...

Rating: 7/10 (28 May 2005)

This movie was absolutely perfect. Brad Pitt has arrived as a great actor; and matches the legendary Peter O'Toole (who plays King Priam) as he creates an organic, believable 'Achilles'. The fact that Wolfgang Petersen overlooks the orthodoxy of Homer and amalgamates Virgil's Aenied ( including the Trojan horse) is of no matter to me. Nor does it matter, the absence of the mysticism of Greek mythos. The relevance of the Greek Gods has been suppressed in this film. The terse dialogue still respects the ancient characters and concepts. Ed Bana is just as I would imagine 'Hektor' would be like. Brian Cox plays 'Agamemnon' as he could possible be in reality: selfish, ambitious and yet somehow heroic. 'Odysseus' perfectly balanced humanity is well preserved from the Homeric prose (brilliantly and humbly played by British stage veteran, Sean Bean) Indeed, the personalities of the characters and how they contrast are what make the Iliad the ultimate tale of human morality.
The screenplay by David Benioff is well adjusted to modern times w/o sacrificing the mores of that time. The only other period-film that succeeded in both being "Hollywood" and actually convincing, time-wise, was Tombstone (directed by George P. Cosmatos, 1993). Troy highlights the vanities that we no longer analyze within ourselves. Pride and Greed are now interwoven into our culture. That was probably the true motivation that inspired Homer in his day Â– which was a time very similar to our own. The luxury of ancient Greece and Troy easily matched our opulence and privileges. The bourgeois trappings of a comfortable society rend the same beasts: sheep, wolves andÂ… lions.
The reason we tell these tales over and over again is no accident. And we really are no different than those who lived before Christ or Muhammad. Our destiny awaits us.