"I would rather be the least among the living, than the first among the dead."

Rating: Null/10 (31 May 2004)

When Ulysses travels to the Underworld, he meets Achilles' spirit and says: "As for you, Achilles, no one was ever yet so fortunate as you have been, nor ever will be, for you were adored by all of us Argives as long as you were alive, and now that you are here you are a great prince among the dead. Do not, therefore, take it so much to heart even if you are dead." "Say not a word", he (Achilles) answered,"in death's favour; I would rather be a paid servant in a poor man's house and be above ground than king of kings among the dead;..." (Odyssey Book 11) I always perceived that Achilles' regretting his decision that he strove for glory and 'immortality' instead of leading a peaceful and anonymous life as one of the key messages in Homer's works, and a surprisingly modern one.In my opinion this message should have been included in the film which already has some anti-war notions. Instead of having Achilles' say in a V. O. at the end of the movie that people would remember the Troian War in a thousand years (sure we all know that), he could have said exactly what he said in the Odyssey. That would have given the film more depth and meaning.
In the whole, I think the film better than some critics suggested. Despite some hokey and clumsy dialogues and lack of narrative momentum, it has some touching moments and is visually stunning. As the makers said that the movie was inspired by Homer, there took great liberties with regards to the plot. It may be justified to leave the gods out, but since they were the driving forces behind many events, their absence made it difficult to tell a plausible and coherent story.