Not the Iliad

Rating: 6/10 (13 July 2015)

Taken by itself, the 2004 movie Troy, Written by David Benioff, is a wonderful and exhilarating cinematic experience. The star of this film, Brad Pitt, is truly Achilles reborn and he does a phenomenal job portraying the perfect, yet still flawed, character during his long on-screen sequences. Pitt's portrayal of Achilles' arrogance and rage coupled with his sense of honor and passion for his loved ones could not have been more spot on. Also, Vincent Regan is to be praised for his role as Eudoros, the General in charge of Achilles' Myrmidon Army. While the writer did omit the character Phoenix from the movie, he does a good job of incorporating aspects of the character in Eudoros. Regan does a great job of being the loyal friend a soldier to Pitt's Achilles as well as the often ignored voice of reason. However, if the viewer of this movie has ever read Homer's Iliad, the shine wears off this penny quite quickly as there are many inexcusable omissions and modifications to Homer's original story.
Though the glaring omissions were many, the first that the viewer, who is familiar with the Iliad, notices is the total lack of the supernatural. In the original Iliad, Homer stresses the roles of the Greek gods in nearly all aspects of the story. Nothing in the Iliad seems to occur without the direct intervention, or the express consent, of the gods. However, in the movie Troy, if the viewer wants to see any gods, they will be sorely disappointed. The gods are merely mentioned in the movie and sadly make no appearances. This is shameful as, according to Homer, the gods were real and physically present during the Iliad. Changes to the story line for transfer to screen are to be expected but, in this movie the writer goes too far. Barely a quarter of the way into this movie the Character King Menelaus is (spoiler alert) slain by Hector during his battle with Paris. This event never occurred in Homer's Iliad in any way shape or form. In fact, this character's death is never even mentioned in the play by Homer. Also, (Spoiler alert) King Agamemnon is slain by the character Briseis. This also, never occurred in the Iliad and Agamemnon's death is recorded later to be at the hands of his wife, Hellen of Troys Sister, Clytemnestra. The writer kills two major characters in ways that they were never meant to be killed. This was likely done for effect but does not actually help the story in any way.
The last affront to the true Iliad fans sensibilities was the inclusion of the Trojan horse. This character is famously portrayed at the end of the movie, as was expected, saving the day and delivering the city of Troy to the Greeks. But, as true Iliad fans are aware of, the Trojan horse was not even mentioned in any of Homer's works. It was not until nearly 1100 years later that the story was written of by Virgil in his Aeneid. This combining of stories that were over 1000 years apart, while socially acceptable for the continuity of the movie, is truly a slap in the face for anyone who wanted a true re-telling of Homer's ancient play.
Though this movie was entertaining and well made, the lack of respect given to the original story was unacceptable. This re-imagining was nearly as bad as what was done to Robert Heinlein's masterpiece, Starship Troopers. Troy has the audience wondering if the screen writer even read Homer's original play before typing up this piece.