Truly disappointing, total lack of vision or creativity

Rating: 1/10 (15 May 2004)

I understand that directors take poetic license and fill in the details of major events to fit their vision of such events. The battle of Troy may have never happened, but as far as the Iliad is concerned (this being the source for the myth of Achilles and Hector), the director completely altered the story, the timing of events, and what the characters stand for.
This movie accomplishes nothing other than to force people to write negative comments about it. We know that epic battles can be depicted with ease given today's computer animated graphics. As a matter of fact, Lord of the Rings, all three of them, has better epic battle scenes and the fight choreography is believable and entertaining. In this movie Brad Pitt has a "Kill Move" that looks straight out of a Nintendo game.
The acting was not so bad, but the best actors were in secondary roles, Peter O'Toole (Priam) and Brian Cox (Agamemnon). Brad Pitt (Achilles), Eric Bana (Hector), and Orlando Bloom (Paris) fail to truly depict what the characters stand for. But, it is not their fault they were given roles and scripts written so poorly.
The Iliad has survived thousand of years because it is a beautiful story, full of heroes and with exciting events. It is almost impossible for someone to come even close when making a move based on the Iliad. But, a decent director would take the major parts of the story, and add subplots and details that are not intrinsic to the story but that add beauty and perhaps another dimension to it. Wolfgang Petersen set out to destroy the Iliad and the myths on which the story is based. The gods are as important to the story as the humans (in fact they too fight one another and against humans). They were not only completely removed from this movie, but also any reference to the gods was made with derision, and they were always wrong. This is a movie for the atheist!
I could not leave the theater because I had to drive people back home. However, the last 30 minutes were a torture to watch. The movie deserves to be seen, but only as a guide of what not to do when making a movie based on a great tale. This movie is not worth a penny. Wait until a friend buys or rents the DVD and then borrow it.
Sex sells, so it seems. This movie has plenty of shots of Pitt and Bloom semi-naked. This could be a good move since many women would pay to see them nude. However, Brad Pitt may fit the physical description of Achilles but not his psychological profile. Same goes for Eric Bana. Truly epic films include EPIC actors. Though I cannot think who would be a good fit for Achilles, Russell Crowe would have been a great Hector.