I didn’t expect to like this movie, but after watching it, cannot figure out what the naysayers are complaining about. The movie has non stop action mixed with great drama. The perfomrances are stellar, led by legendary Peter O’Toole himself, as Priam. The movie is even truest to the original Iliad. There are som returnings, as this is done with a spot of realism.
The Iliad is foremost the story about the dispute between Agamenmno and Achilles. That is the story. And that is what this movie focuses on. Troy, Ilium, is pretty well agreed upon to be Turkey, and the war was probably about trade routes.
The movie has stunning fights and great acting. Pitt reminds us of a thoughtful but energetic Russell Crowe, and that’s good company.
In fact, the parts rewritten are an improvement upon what we are given previously. No one knows for sure how much of the original poem really is intact. Later versions almost certainly romanticized certain viewpoints. Homer sang for kinds, so basically the poems were brown nosing jobs, as evident from what text we have today. The more powerful a king was, the more Homer brown nosed. He was the first recorded shameless toady.
This movie is a supreme delight, and I was pleasantly surprised at everyone and everything. It looks to be the result of a well oiled machine in which everyone involved can take pride in jobs superbly done.