So-so movie, bad history, nice special effects

Rating: 4/10 (27 February 2005)

The special effects in this movie are very good, but then that is commonplace in many big budget flicks today. Although, when viewing the Special Features CD I was surprised to see the producer, director, etc. all make a big deal out of it. I guess this must be the first time any of them ever used computer generated effects.
I thought the acting was pretty substandard. In fact, while watching the movie on CD, although I had never seen it before, I often turned the movie off to go do something else for awhile. Maybe it was because I already knew the ending. I watched the entire movie over two days.
In one interview from the Special Effects CD, Brad Pitt says, "Brutal" over and over again to describe the rehearsals and training for the movie. This just reinforces my belief that actors have no idea what ordinary people put up with on a daily basis. Moreover, I suspect Brad Pitt was the perfect choice to play Achilles as that character was also a self-centered person.
However, I do think that the writers made a good choice when they only had the characters refer to the gods, instead of having the so-called gods appear themselves (i.e., shades of Steve Reeves).
One part of the film that I thought could have been better was the banquet scene in Sparta. It looked like an orgy, very unlike what would have taken place and the food was far better than what the Spartans really ate. In fact, one quote that has come down in history is from a Greek, visiting from another city state, who after having eaten supper with a Spartan family remarks, "Now I know why the Spartans are not afraid to die." I guess what I hated most about this flick was the way they rewrote the Iliad to kill people off in the war when they didn't die until post-Troy, and to kill people off in the burning of Troy long after they were dead in the Iliad. If I was Homer, I would sue.
But then this is Hollywood... Don't forget to read the book.