A nice blockbuster suffering from an awful adaption of the "Iliad"

Rating: 7/10 (13 May 2004)

Ok, I looked forward to this movie for months. No I must say that I´m a little disappointed. The movie itself was a solid blockbuster, nicely made and with a supreme cast. But if you know the "Iliad" you know how to make the story even better. (Originally) 10 (!) years of Trojan war decreased to a few weeks. That automatically has the effect of harsh story-jumps and is creating lenghts while explaining all the new problems emerging. Additionally, the "Iliad" is a divine story and the Greek gods take part in that war themselves: Achilleus is not killed by paris, but by a goddess who takes position for Troy and is raged about the desecration of Hector´s corpse. The priest Laokoon tries to warn not to pull the horse into the city and is killed by Poseidon´s sea snakes. I think these would have been nice story kicks which should have been brought in. But although if one decides to avoid divine influences the film does simply not reach the original tale. Good that there were also positive surprises like an amazing Hector (Bana) who totally convinced as honourable prince of Troy fighting for "patria" and family.