Beautiful, but not accurate

Rating: Null/10 (16 May 2004)

Beautifully filmed, great cast. Afraid that if the viewer does not have some knowledge of The Illiad and The Odyssey as well as The Aeneid, the movie's story line might be confusing. One small example: Unless the viewer knows that Achilles was dipped in the river Styx at his birth by his mother (the sea nymph Thetis) to make him immortal - an act that left his heel (the spot where she held onto him to dip him in to the water) vulnerable, the viewer might not understand why this fearless warrior can pull arrows out of his chest, yet keel over with an arrow shot through his foot.
And just keeping up with the names might be confusing to some if not used to them.
Then again, if the viewer DOES have knowledge of The Illiad and The Odyssey as well as The Aeneid, he/she will be very confused about the condensation of those epics into this 2 1/2 hour movie. Characters die in the movie who don't die in the literature. At any rate, enjoy the movie for what it is - and remember that it is loosely based on The Illiad!