I saw it this weekend. Though the large scale battle scenes will no doubt remind people of Helm's Deep or Pelannor Fields from The Lord of the Rings, if that's the only thing you'll be watching this film for, you will be dissapointed. Not to say the battle scenes aren't pretty good; they simply don't surpass the technical standards set by LotR.
The film itself is not earth-shatteringly good or anything. It is simply a decently well told story and entertaining enough. There is a lot of enjoy. The story is fast moving and jumps right to the point. It stays true to the original intent and doesn't meander around for no reason.
There is a lot of good acting (there is also some so-so, and some not-so-good acting). The characters are fleshed out efficiently. The fights are exciting. In fact, the mano-a-mano fight between Hector and Achilles is simply SUPERB and is now one of my all-time favorites.
There are some heavy revisions to the storyline. "Inspired by the Iliad" is the running joke here; the gods' involvment is completely cut from the screenplay.
Bana is quite good as Hector. Sean Bean in particular is very likable as Odysseus, and finally gets to play someone other than a bad guy or a failure. Even Pitt delivers a half-decent performance, though we know the real reason he was cast was to get the women in the ticket line.
Story and characters: 7
Acting and direction: 7
Butt kicking factor: 8
Hot, nekkid chicks: 7
(would be a 8 but Helen's nude scene sadly curtailed by dolt cameraman who thought the whimpy dialogue was more important)
M
