having read Homer's THE ILIAD, director Wolfgang Peterson's epic film doesn't pretend to be exactly like the poem. Instead, Peterson takes plenty of artistic license. It is clear that Peterson wanted his movie to be entertaining (ala 'Gladiator') AND true to Homer's story. Unfortunately he lost his way near the end.But first let's examine the characters:Brad Pitt is Achilles. Some have said he was miscast. Who else could play Achilles with the emotions he did? The anger and sadness and ruthlessness all bottled up inside this tragic hero? Achilles is not a one-dimensional character (ala Steve Reeves). Pitt portrayed a complex war hero. A man only his mother (Goddess Thetis could love and understand). He menacing hatred for King Agamemnon was genuine. How else would an actor play Achilles (we are not talking Hamlet or King Lear). It was one of Pitt's better performances.Another actor who does a good job is Eric Bana as Hector. A more subtle approach to his character. Husband and father, he is the reluctant hero for the Trojans. Bana was perfectly cast. No match for Achilles, he still fights the Greek war hero. Bana is wonderful to watch.Peter O'Toole as King Priam (Troy's king) also gives a standout performance. And Brian Cox as the hated King Aggamemnon is meaner than a rattlesnake, and very effective.The battle sequences are effective, especially the first battle involving Achilles and his men arriving on the shores of Troy. Peterson really catches the fierceness of hand to hand combat with arrows and spears and swords. If you saw the opening of 'Saving Private Ryan' and it's version of D-Day, war is just as intense in Peterson's stagings here.If there are weaknesses in the film, and there are many, it concerns some of the other characters. For example.Helen of Troy. It is a thankless role that Diane Kruger plays. King Menalaus, her husband. There is little substance to his character. We don't care about what happens to him. Achilles has fallen for a Trojan girl (cousin to Hector). She gives a fine performance, but the role could have easily been cut from the film. Orlando Bloom's Paris is weak, as he should be. Paris, brother to Hector, runs from a dual with Menalaus. And it is he winds up shooting Achilles in the heal with his arrow. More on that in a second. Hector's wife had little to say or do. And Peterson never reveals much history about Troy or its adversary, the Greeks. For those who were not familiar with this famous war, a brief history lesson might have been helpful.Odysseus (Ulysses if you're Roman - Sean Bean) was not seen very often. But it was he who created the idea of the Trojan Horse. Peterson instead decided to concentrate all of his efforts of Achilles, in effect causing inaccuracies throughout the film. For example:When Paris and Helen run away to Troy, the Greek Armada attack. It is to become a 10 year war, with many of the more famous cast of characters still alive to see the burning of Troy. The Gods play a big part in the sacking of Troy, and defending it. Because Achilles has insulted Apollo, it is Apollo who guides Paris' arrow when Achilles get hit in the heal. When Achilles was dipped into the River Styx as a child by his mother, Goddess Thetis, his body became invulnerable, all except the heal she had held him with. Paris kills him not long after the death of Hector. After killing Achilles, Paris is also killed by Greek hero and strongman Ajax who would go on to take his own life after Odysseus won Achilles' armor and not him (in the movie Ajax is killed early in the film). When Odysseus constructs the Trojan Horse, Paris is already dead as is Achilles (in the movie Achilles jumps out of the horse with the other Greeks and Paris is waiting to kill him). King Priam does indeed die during the burning of Troy, but Aggamemnon does not die. Helen survives and returns to Sparta. And Odysseus is the main character in Homer's second epic, THE ODYSSEY. The ending seemed a little hurried.But considering what Peterson chose to work with (unless he had wanted to make a 20-hour movie), "Troy" is one of the best war films to come out in the last decade because it seems real, as if I were watching fighting men on some contemporary battlefield. There is really a special feeling you get when you can imagine watching mythology come to life. Peterson has done a great job at creating history.Accept the film as entertainment and imagine these characters come to life, you will enjoy it. Hey, it could be worse. Try watching most of today's expensive films (Cat in the Hat, Van Helsing, The Alamo, etc.). If you are expecting "Gladiator" it may not measure up, but comes real close.