Forgivable vs. unforgivable changes to Homer's story

Rating: 5/10 (22 March 2005)

I'm on the fence about the piles of "artistic license" employed in this movie. The problem, of course, is that there is NO WAY to make a comprehensive movie of an Homeric epic without making it several hours longer than this Hollywood popcorn-nibbler. Hence the many TV miniseries in recent years. However, because TV shows are marketed to America's lowest common denominator so the sponsors can sell fabric softener, these "tributes to literary epics" usually blow chunks. BIG chunks.
On the plus side, the script has some fairly well-written scenes, like the dialogue between Priam and Achilles. And there's the fight choreography. I have no idea about the historical accuracy of it, and I don't care. I can't remember when spears and shields were used so well.
I also had no real beef with the screenwriters for leaving out the gods, except in conversation. I remember the gods' importance and interference in the events of mankind in these epics. But without them, the events of the film are steered by human flaws and strengths alone. Thus, going to war in Troy is because of human lust, greed, ambition, shame and hatred...not because the gods are angry. It's tailored for a modern audience skeptical of the reasons given for war, for better or worse, and it's a valid topic. Compared to the earth-bound behavior of the Greeks, Priam's adherence to signs and omens from the gods seems silly. And in a modern context, it is.
I had problems, however, with the Trojan War lasting about the length of a weekend, like a four-day thing we get with Thanksgiving. This war is fabled to have lasted TEN YEARS!!!! You might as well have entitled the film "Vietnam" and put it in the jungle for a weekend of lush greenery. Traveling by ship from Athens to Troy would have taken longer than the time frame of the movie! Hell, it took Odysseus ten years just to get BACK from Troy!
SPOILER ALERT!!!!
Speaking of being faithful to other works of Greek literature . . . the killing of Agamemnon was just plain stupid, and totally avoidable. Has anyone in Hollywood heard of The Oresteia? Was it included in their syllabus entitled "Hackery 100?" Also, the romance between Achilles and the Trojan princess was incredibly lame. It was good to see Brad Pitt's character care about SOMETHING in this movie, other than his own immortal fame. It made us care about him more. But there had to have been another way, other than making up a Trojan character and having her fall in love with the guy who just killed her countrymen. It was a stretch that simply didn't work.
And the CGI moments were basically useless. We all know it's CGI. The "scope" they're trying to bring to the conflict isn't heightened by digital armies and armadas.
So, some good things and some really bad things in this movie. I'm still on the fence.