i'm Greek so...my opinion counts! SOME SPOILERS!

Rating: 8/10 (4 March 2005)

first of all...the film is called "Troy" and not "Homers Iliada" for a reason...it's based upon one of my favorite books and i literally grew up with the story. we are a proud nation and "Iliada" along side with "Odessia" are considered national treasures. to help you get the point of how significant Homers legacy is, just keep in mind that most of us Greeks never read the entire holy bible,just pieces of it.. but ALL Greeks have read the "Iliada!!!" more than once...
the director's purpose wasn't to give us an accurate telling of the book (trying to make an American Hollywood film out of Homers poetry would be a crime against humanity) but to make an entertaining film based upon the original story line...Yes,to be honest,i got angry by some stupid changes to the story,beginning with Achilleas fighting against the Thessalians at the beginning of the film.. (Achilleas was actually the king of Thessalies), and the way Petersen ended the film was way off.
but in the end..it was entertaining...and that was the entire point of it. Brilliant cast, (Hectoras was always my personal favorite of the book's characters,and i was amazed to see Eric Bana doing a wonderful job)great acting,the directing was alright, i would expect more effort though in not trying to wrap the story up as it happened in two weeks... the beauty of the book was the ten years of the Greeks waiting,by reading the book you understand how tired and dedicated to their beliefs the Greeks and the Trojans were..and some more respect to Agamemnona and Menelaus would be the right thing,they weren't really pigs like the film describes.. but every Hollywood blockbuster needs a strong "badguy" so i understand. (agamemnonas was much younger too, mid-thirties)
Overall..I'm Greek and i enjoyed this film very much. It gave me exactly what i wanted of it, pure entertainment. No one can outmatch Homers poetry and if the director tried to reproduce a copy of the Iliada I would be insulted...the book is a masterpiece and should stay UNTOUCHED!