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Director:
Zack Snyder
Starring:
Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, Vincent Regan
Genre:
Action & Adventure
Studio:
Warner Home Video
Release date:
2007
Rated:
R
Language (Country):
English, Spanish, French
(USA)
Summary:
Like "Sin City" before it, "300" brings Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's graphic novel vividly to life. Gerard Butler ("Beowulf and Grendel", "The Phantom of the Opera") radiates pure power and charisma as Leonidas, the Grecian king who leads 300 of his fellow Spartans (including David Wenham of "The Lord of the Rings", Michael Fassbender, and Andrew Pleavin) into a battle against the overwhelming force of Persian invaders. Their only hope is to neutralize the numerical advantage by confronting the Persians, led by King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), at the narrow strait of Thermopylae.
More engaging than "Troy", the tepid and somewhat similar epic of ancient Greece, "300" is also comparable to "Sin City" in that the actors were shot on green screen, then added to digitally created backgrounds. The effort pays off in a strikingly stylized look and huge, sweeping battle scenes. However, it's not as to-the-letter faithful to Miller's source material as "Sin City" was. The plot is the same, and many of the book's images are represented just about perfectly. But some extra material has been added, including new villains (who would be considered "bosses" if this were a video game, and it often feels like one) and a political subplot involving new characters and a significantly expanded role for the Queen of Sparta (Lena Headey). While this subplot by director Zack Snyder ("Dawn of the Dead") and his fellow co-writers does break up the violence, most fans would probably dismiss it as filler if it didn't involve the sexy Headey. Other viewers, of course, will be turned off by the waves of spurting blood, flying body parts, and surging testosterone. (The six-pack abs are also relentless, and the movie has more and less nudity--more female, less male--than the graphic novel.) Still, as a representation of Miller's work and as an ancient-themed action flick with a modern edge, "300" delivers. "--David Horiuchi"
My Rating:
My Review: Release date 2006? Yes, this movie was originally released 9 Dec, 2006. At the Austin, TX 'Butt-Numb-A-Thon' film festival. I've been waiting for this movie for some time. I own 'The 300 Spartans', and I've read a few books about this event - Including the more recent 'Gates of Fire' by Steven Presfield. The movie opened this weekend (9 Mar 2007), and Kim and I went to see it at the theater. This movie was truly amazing, a visually perfect movie. Every scene could be ripped from the movie and made into a movie poster. The overanimation introduced in 'Sin City', reaches it's ultimate conclusion in this movie - Perfection. It was highly artistic, but not too comic like. It gave the viewer some distance when the scenes became gory, and they did, quite frequently. The acting was outstanding, the action tremendous, the music perfectly matched, the sets, costumes, cgi, animation, Wow! Frank Miller's vision is transformed into actual mythology at the hands of Zack Snyder. A pantheon of characters so powerful, an enviornment so rich, and reactions so visceral it felt as if I lived it. While this movie had a few historical problems (seemed to blend the war aims/efforts of Darius and Xerxes into a single campaign, didn't cover the other Greek warriors very well (focussing primarily on the Spartans)), it contained a very clear message, and it was fairly accurate in a historical sense. The story isn't new, it isn't original, but it has never been seen in this way. While politicians haggle over authority, financial ramifications and political expediency, 300+ free Greek warriors make a desparate stand to hold off an invading horde of Persians intent on conquering the entire world. This movie will stand out for decades to come as a masterpiece in a new style. The blending of cgi, animation and live action was flawless. Each complemented the other like no other film I've ever seen. The movie comes at a time where some may be asking 'What price for freedom? and Why do we fight?' While this movie may become a lightning rod for those questions, it is undeniably a sublime visual masterpiece, and I for one hope to see it stand in that light before any debate regarding the 'supposed' political ramifications. As a twenty year veteran of the armed forces, this movie connected with me on a level I doubt some could understand.
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