The first CMoA of the film tells you everything you need to know about Achilles: dragged out of his tent with a hangover, facing the biggest, meanest-looking man possible in Combat by Champion to decide the battle, he strides out, pulls off his finisher ending the battle in 15 seconds or so, and heads back to his tent (and the women in it).
But not without first yelling "Is there NO ONE ELSE?!" at the opposing army, who are all now quaking in their collective boots.
Achilles has a series of them. Not only does he have a Trademark Finisher (a leaping downward thrust that strikes the heart of the victim through the trapezius muscle) which is used several times in the movie, but he swings a shield onto his back in perfect timing to block an oncoming arrow only to switch to a two-handed fighting style. Finally, his battle with Hector is one of the most suspenseful, white-knuckle, edge-of-your-seat battles ever seen in an epic film. The lines "You will wander the underworld blind, deaf, and dumb, and all the dead will know ... this is Hector: the fool who thought he killed Achilles" and "Get up, Prince of Troy. I won't let a stone take my glory." display Achilles's absolute confidence.
What's more, the fight choreography in this and other scenes is a CMoA for the film. Achilles is established to have a distinctive fighting style that is more...well, stylized than the other warriors. Even the near-superhuman Hector fights in a more grounded way. Achilles's trademark killing blow, the leaping neck stab, kills anyone he tries to use it on...until he fights Hector, who blocks it and later breaks Achilles's spear. At that point, although we know Hector is doomed to lose, he shows he's not going down without a fight. At the duel's end, Achilles is sweating and fatigued. Hector is the first fight for him in the film that lasted more than a few seconds.
And that's the first time anyone even got past Achilles's shield. For him, armor WAS useless...
Made even more impressive by the fact that Brad Pitt and Eric Bana did not use stunt doubles for the duel. They made a gentlemen's agreement to pay for every accidental hit; $50 for each light blow and $100 for each hard blow. Pitt ended up paying Bana $750, and Bana didn't owe Pitt anything.
Achilles: Myrmidons! My brothers of the sword! I would rather fight beside you than any army of thousands! Let no man forget how menacing we are! We are lions! Do you know what's there, waiting beyond those walls? Immortality! Take it! It's yours!
After making landfall, Achilles proceeds to dominate every skirmish he gets into with the Trojans, taking full advantage of the fact that they're unused to facing someone with his unique fighting style.
Let's not forget the part where Achilles throws a spear at one of the Trojans riding towards the temple after the first attack and nails him right in the throat when he's still way too far away. Hector, who was riding in the vanguard, is shocked by the sight.
And then effortlessly tilting his body out of the way of a spear thrown in return by Hector.
In the second battle, when, after Hector gets Paris back behind the Trojan walls, he turns and lifts his helmet, screaming "FOR TROY!", a cry echoed by the entire Trojan army.
When Hector spears Ajax through his belly... and then Ajax breaks the spear off and starts beating Hector with it.
The duel between Paris and Menelaus is clearly a Curb-Stomp Battle in the latter's favor, but what it is worth, Paris gets a solid hit on Menelaus with a punch that might have knocked out a tooth. Fighting isn't Paris's strong suit, so that is impressive on his part.
The third battle, where the Trojans attack the Greeks, but after the fireball scene. Hector appears to be standing there watching the Greeks, then he starts banging his spear on his shield, which is then copied by the other men standing behind him. Then they walk forward out of view, and we get a panoramic view of the ENTIRE TROJAN ARMY advancing on the Greeks. Even Odysseus looks worried.
No love for Patroclus? The guy decides to inspire the Greek forces when they have no hope left by donning Achilles's armor and rallying them to fight the entire Trojan army. Even if it ends up getting him killed, the guy's got balls.
His fight with Hector is awesome too. Patroclus knows he can't win, but he decides to fight anyway just so he can inspire hope.
"You're still my enemy in the morning —" "You're still my enemy tonight. But even enemies can show respect."
This is preceded by Priam sneaking into the Greek camp and making it to Achilles's tent. He not only talks him down from his rage, but he manages to recover his son's body. A somber thing, to be sure, but impressive nonetheless.
During the sacking of Troy, a bunch of Trojans decide to make a final stand. They know they can't win, but to them, it's to buy everyone a few extra minutes while going down fighting.
Glaucus: My prince! The boatman waits for us! I say we make him wait a little longer!
But the biggest moment belongs to Briseis, who kills Agamemnon by herself!
After having his brother die for him and everyone die around him as he watched unable to do much, Paris becomes the one to take down the greatest warrior of the Greeks by shooting Achilles in his heel.
