As a former student of classical languages and literature I suppose I should be categorically opposed to this movie.\u00a0 But to be honest I probably enjoyed around three quarters of it.<\/p>\n
(Spoiler Alert \u2013 Skip down to last paragraph to avoid spoilers and read recommendation)<\/strong><\/p>\n Now full disclosure, the movie Troy resembles Homer\u2019s Iliad about as closely as my grandson\u2019s middle school band\u2019s rendition of the Blue Danube Waltz resembles that performed by the Berlin Philharmonic.\u00a0 In other words, not a lot.<\/p>\n But that really isn\u2019t important.\u00a0 The question is whether it succeeds on its own terms.\u00a0 What we\u2019re presented with is an adventure film masquerading as a literary epic.\u00a0 We have the story of Orlando Bloom as Paris absconding with Menelaus\u2019 wife Helen from Sparta and taking her to Troy where her new father-in-law Peter O\u2019Toole as Priam decides that they\u2019ll defy Agamemnon and try to keep Helen even if Brad Pitt as Achilles is preparing to run amok on the windy plains of Troy.<\/p>\n In order to turn an epic poem into a two-hour movie some compromise had to be taken with the plot.\u00a0 Instead of a ten-year war we have a ten-day war.\u00a0 And some folks had to be sacrificed.\u00a0 For instance, both Menelaus and Ajax are axed in the second day of battle.\u00a0 Now that is surprising since in the Hellenic version Menelaus is one of the few heroes to reach a ripe old age after the war.\u00a0 And equally surprising, not only does Paris survive but he ends up keeping Helen.\u00a0 Shocker!<\/p>\n So, you might ask what does survive the translation from page to screen?\u00a0 Well, I\u2019d say Agamemnon, Odysseus, Achilles, Priam and Hector are recognizably themselves.\u00a0 Agamemnon is an arrogant fool.\u00a0 Odysseus is the wily survivor and Achilles is the aristocratic demi-god following his doom.\u00a0 Priam is the honorable king who must see his country and family laid waste. \u00a0But the most sympathetic character is of course Hector.\u00a0 Here is the good man, prince, husband, son, brother and father trying to save his country from a creature that no man can defeat.\u00a0 It is his fate to kill the cousin of the monster and now have to face him in single combat.\u00a0 And he will die and his body will be lashed to the back of Achilles chariot and dragged around the plains of Troy in ignominy.\u00a0 And this gives his father the chance to beg Achilles mercy to allow for decent burial.<\/p>\n So quite a bit of the story survives.\u00a0 We even get the Trojan horse scene, which truth be told isn\u2019t part of the Iliad.\u00a0 It\u2019s more of an aside in a story in the Odyssey.<\/p>\n As you can imagine, the whole thing is sort of a hot mess.\u00a0 To his credit I think Brad Pitt acquits himself quite skillfully in his characterization of Achilles.\u00a0 His relation to the primary and secondary characters is consistent and generally very entertaining.\u00a0 Unfortunately, all of this relatively positive film making falls apart in the last scene.\u00a0 The sack of Troy is highly unsatisfactory.\u00a0 The death of Achilles seems to fall flat and lacks emotional interest.<\/p>\n So, who, if anyone, can I recommend this movie to?\u00a0 Well, to start with Brad Pitt fans might want to give it a watch.\u00a0 I\u2019d say fans of sword and sandals epics might like it.\u00a0 Strict devotees of Homer will be affronted and may throw things at the screen.\u00a0 My opinion is that it is relatively entertaining with some weak scenes and an unsatisfying ending.\u00a0 Of course, your milage may vary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As a former student of classical languages and literature I suppose I should be categorically opposed to this movie.\u00a0 But to be honest I probably<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[239,237],"tags":[4175,195,43,38,1355,4591],"class_list":["post-29269","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-movie-reviews","category-reviews","tag-brad-pitt","tag-classical-history","tag-movie-review","tag-review","tag-reviews","tag-the-iliad"],"yoast_head":"\n