Gigantomaniac, but fine

Rating: Null/10 (10 May 2004)

Oh, come on, it's really not that bad
As a great "Iliad" enthusiast I was quite nervous about the possible blockbuster butchering of Homer. I have to say, though, that I was surprised at how much they actually stick to the story. For example, I never thought they would allow a handsome prince in love played by Orlando Bloom to be the wimp he is in the original text. But they did actually make him look really both silly and shameful, which is admirable. Also, I feared the Achilles/Briseis pairing to be horribly sentimental - of course they had to make her a love interest and not a mere trophy, as she is in the Iliad - but mostly they did a sober, tense version of the relationship, apart from some false notes towards the end. The battle scenes were terrific, especially the duel between Achilles and Hector. Eric Bana is sympathetic as Hector, a difficult character to play because he is so damned noble, but the scene stealer is the magnificent Sean Bean as the cunning Odysseus.
What is my most serious argument towards the film, is that it proves less generous and tolerant than Homer by making a shallow bad guy of the Greek King Agamemnon and good guys of the valiant Troyans. In the epic, both sides are portrayed as heroic and human, with heroes and cowards on either side. And the dragged out death scenes are downright ridiculous. Also, the most pompous lines ring horribly hollow and become unwillingly comic. But you cannot exactly complain about being to pompous when it after all is about a rendition of what is in fact The. Greatest. Story. Ever. Told