Very entertaining movie - highly recommended

Rating: 9/10 (3 February 2007)

Being of Greek ancestry, I thought the British accents, Peter O'Toole's(Priam) accent for example seemed very out of place. That being said, the scene where King Priam begs Achilles to let him give his son a proper burial was quite powerful and touching. I didn't like the idea of glamour boy Brad Pitt playing the part of Achilles. I also thought that an actor with more classical Greek features should have played the part, but then again Achilles was supposed to have golden hair.
In the end, I thought Pitt did a better than average job of playing that role. His dialogue with Briseies where he talks about how the "Gods envy us because we are mortal" was quite good.
Although the Gods did not play a real vital part in the movie as they did in the Iliad, I guess some liberties were taken to make it more palatable to today's audience.
I really like Eric Bana's (Hector) acting in this film. As the son of Priam, he nobly defends Troy and you even find yourself feeling sympathetic towards him. Realizing his impending death, he gives his wife who is holding their newborn, instructions for hiding from the Greek army just before he goes into battle with Achilles outside the walls of Troy. You feeling sorry for Hector, as an infuriated Achilles seeks to avenge the death of Patrocolus who Hector has slayed.
I thought that Orlando Bloom (Paris) acting seemed sub par. I was also expecting Helen to have more scenes and be more central to the movie.
The battle scenes were very cinematic, and the showdown between Hector and Achilles may have been the best scene in the movie.
This was a great epic film. I would also recommend The Gladiator.