"Inspired" by Homer?

Rating: 6/10 (17 May 2004)

To me W. Petersen has done a good job with a poor (very poor, indeed) screenplay. Benioff has a rather short screenplay resume and has failed completely this time. Anyone who has ever read a single chapter from either 'The Iliad' or 'The Odyssey' should feel disappointed.
The storyline and the characters are simply flat. The main original theme is fate and how it is in the human nature to defy it and make choices, whatever the outcome. Unfortunately 'Troy' does not come even near it. Every single character is so deep that a separate movie centered on him/ her could be made. Fundamental error is the omission that the war has actually gone on for ten years and Achilles has made his name already as the great and invincible warrior  in 'Troy' he fights only at the Trojan 'D-Day' and in a private fight against Hector and he just deserves to die in a battle, that is where the legends are made and the original points in this direction. Agamemnon is not the less tragic. He is not a mere ruthless politician-megalomaniac  he has made the ultimate sacrifice to come to Troy  killing his own daughter. Paris ( I loved the idea that he would be played by O. Bloom, but really pitied the man that brought us Legolass) has earned the LOVE of the most beautiful woman in the world (Miss Krueger has a beautiful face and gorgeous body but I must say it  she is cold, and is completely overshadowed by Saffron Burrows) and his tragedy is that she is married to another but they simply belong to each other. In no way he should be depicted as a self-indulging Casanova. And I could go on and on with almost every character in the script.
The only scene worthy of praise (void of the battle ones) is when Priam goes to Achilles plead for the dead body of his son, but O'Toole is just too big for a bad screenplay, isn't he?
In summary, Mr. Benioff if you ever go for another historic screenplay do your homework first and read the original (Homer would be read far longer then any of us) or just watch 'The History Channel' or even betterleave it to Peter Jackson.