Dawn of the Geeks

Troy is the anti-Big Fish. When the writers were asked whether they’d like to hear their father’s version of events or what actually happened they chose the latter. Which is why it’s getting very mixed reviews. There’s a reason the Iliad has been around for over 2000 years. And it’s not because it tells a bland story about a bunch of men fighting over a woman. In fact, this movie doesn’t even make it about Helen. It’s about King Agamemnon’s quest to rule all of Greece. Achilles’ father is known and died long ago. The only real mention of the gods is by the priest and he’s just trying to decifer signs and is always wrong. Achilles’ trashes Apollo’s temple and his men kill some unarmed priests and nothing happens. The movie makers not only stripped out any and all mythology but went out of their way to show just how non existent the gods are. At the end of course Achille’s gets shot in the ankle with an arrow and then quite a few more times. He pulls out all of the arrows except the one in his ankle. Others then find him dead and alone. The obvious point the writers were making was “this is how the legend came about.” It looks like he was killed by the arrow in his ankle so quickly that he couldn’t pull it out. It look as though all the shots to the chest didn’t phase him but the one in the ankle did him in.

I mention it’s not even about Helen. There’s a huge ancient debate about what possesed Helen to go with Paris. You can read about it in The Labyrith in the paper titled “Blame Helen.” In this movie Paris is just a hottie that all the women want. She simply fell in love with him. There was no fight with the gods. BORING. The King of Greece just takes the opportunity to get his men to sack Troy by pretending it’s about her. This actually took 10 years. In the movie, there’s no sense of time. Certainly nobody aged 10 years.

The Iliad will be a classic tale for who knows how long. This movie is going to be forgotten quickly. There are worse tellings of the story but that doesn’t help this telling any. It’s unique in that it tries to strip out the mythology and tell the story “like it actually happened.” But there’s a reason people turn stories into legends and myths. It’s to spice them up. To see the hand of God at work. To get a better understanding of life. Greek myths are tales of heros and life lessons. There is nothing to learn from this movie. Braveheart which had no mythology and is an excellent movie so it’s really no excuse for Troy to be as bland as it is just because it removed all the Greek toppings.

While it is a decently entertaining movie, compared to the Iliad it’s just junk. Unfortunatly, “King Arthur” is doing the same thing. It’s stripping out the myths and just telling the story “like it happened.” Nobody wants to hear about the way it was, Conkite. That’s why it’s turned into a legend and a myth. It’s more valuable and entertaining that way. If I had to guess, I’d say this is Hollywood’s answer to “The Passion.” Instead of embracing the written accounts as they’re written, it’s time to go atheist on the stories. The result is a more desolate ruin than Greece is today.