Movie of the Week 2

For all you cable cutting rebels searching for something to stream this weekend, here is the pick of the week available on Netflix.

Troy 2004 action adventure

With an A list cast and huge production budget this is a major epic movie; yet was panned by the cabal of media movie critics for not being true to the original Iliad storyline. Are you serious? It is foolishness to compare this film to a poem penned in 750 B.C. Whenever I’m about to dive into the esoteric world of Ancient History, I always recall the old saw: “History is written by the victors.” The Trojan War was won by a coalition of Greek states, and surprise, surprise, a Greek wrote the only surviving record of the conflict (The Iliad). Do ya think it might be a biased Greek fairy tale? DUH. Now back to the movie. If nothing else, this film is best remembered as having several impressive panorama and action scenes. The intense sword fighting is reason enough to watch this movie. While Achilles is the star of the film, he is well supported by a strong cast. King Agamemnon (Brian Cox) and King Priam (Pete O’Toole) display their acting talents, although they are all overshadowed by Sean Bean. Sean is outstanding as the crafty warlord Odysseus (aka Ulysses, his Roman name). Although not as much screen time as Achilles, his performance is edgy and true to the legends of the cunning king of Ithaca making Odysseus easily the most interesting character in the flick. He did not display the heroic man-to-man dueling skills of Achilles, but he excelled in tactical trickery so valued in ancient Greek warfare. Indeed, the Trojan War is won by a notorious example of Greek guile with the Trojan Horse. The clever plan conceived by Odysseus is one of several highlights of Greek military history, and doomed Troy to the dustbin of antiquity. “Trojans don't trust this horse! Whatever it is, I'm afraid of Greeks bearing gifts.

Currently streamable on Netflix

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