Rated
R (Graphic Battle Sequences Throughout, Some Sexuality and Nudity)
Running
Time: 1 Hour & 57 Minutes
Cast-
Gerard
Butler-King Leonidas
Lena
Headey-Queen Gorgo
Rodrigo
Santoro-King Xerxes
Dominic
West-Theron
David
Wenham-Dilios
Vincent
Regan-Captain
Michael
Fassbender-Stelios
Tom
Wisdom-Astinos
Andrew
Pleavin-Daxos
Andrew
Tiernan-Ephialtes
Directed
by Zack Snyder
 |
| Director Zack Snyder has literally brought a comic book to life with "300." |
'PREPARE
FOR GLORY!' After a somewhat long hiatus, your favorite movie reviewer is back
with a vengeance, as we are here today with "300," based upon the
1998 Dark Horse Comics graphic novel of the same name written and illustrated
by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley. In the wake of Zack Snyder's
"Watchmen," I thought I'd go back and look at his previous comic book
film adaptation and boy, is it something. Even after watching it for the umpteenth
time, "300" continues to be one of the goriest and most entertaining films
of recent memory, worthy of having Snyder being called a 'visionary director.'
It
is the year 480 BC and Persian messengers arrive at the gates of Sparta,
demanding that King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and his city-state submit to the
will of the God-King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). Leonidas is defiant, and
offended by their threats and behavior, make quick work of the messengers.
Despite the Ephors (ancient priests) and the Oracle's decree that Sparta cannot
go to war, Leonidas takes three hundred of his finest soldiers to a small
narrow path between two high cliffs called Thermopylae on a certain suicide
mission to repel the massive Persian force. While her husband is way, Queen
Gorgo (Lena Headey) must convince the Spartan council to send reinforcements
while fending off advances of corrupt politician Theron (Dominic West).
If you've read the source material, than you should already know the story as Zack Snyder
has chosen to remain 100% faithful to it while adding some supporting plot
elements to strengthen the film. The
plot is very simple and not thought-provoking at all, but this is to the film's
advantage because the first ten minutes clues audiences in on everything they
need to know about the culture of Sparta, that great men and larger-than-life
heroes like Leonidas are born and bred, trained from the very beginning to
serve a specific purpose. It doesn't get bogged down with stuffy explanations
of military strategy and even the scenes involving politics are straight to the
point and even elegant in a way. You'll be surprised at the amount of character
development for a film that is primarily marketed as a bloody historical fantasy war epic
but this is again to the picture's advantage. Look at the relationship between
Leonidas and Gorgo, the tender love and mutual respect they share for each
other is rarely seen in 'guy movies.' Unfortunately, there was some controversy
upon the film's release, as the Iranian government denounced "300" as
racist with its depiction of Persians as a barbaric, demonic horde. Some
critics have also tried to derive ideological meaning from the film but personally,
all of this was making a big fuss over nothing. This is based upon a comic book
which takes a historical event and heavily embellishes it for mass entertainment. It
is not meant to be an accurate representation of what happened at Thermopylae.
The
acting is great, with Gerard Butler channeling his inner Russell Crowe and
giving a performance that captures the awesome presence of Leonidas on and off
the battlefield, leaving audiences hanging on his every word. When he prepares
to go off to war, his wife yells 'Spartan!' and he turns to meet her eyes. He
doesn't say 'Good-bye, my love' because everything that needs to be said is already
written on his face thanks to Butler's steely, yet tender gaze. Likewise, Lena
Headey portrays Queen Gorgo as the voice of reason for Leonidas, encouraging
him to do what is right in his heart and showing a fiery intelligence that is
only matched by her smoldering sexuality. Her standout moment is when she
pleads with the Spartan council to send reinforcements to help Leonidas but
Theron accuses her of adultery and using her body to get what she wants. A male
Spartan would've probably struck him across the face but Gorgo doesn't do that;
she grabs a sword and plunges it into his chest! The entire theater applauded
and it's great that Snyder expanded Headey's character as the original comic
focused squarely on the battle. As the Persian tyrant Xerxes, Rodrigo Santoro
is terrific and the scene where he tries to tempt Leonidas betrays his
underlying and extreme hubris. He is overly confident that he will win because
he has the larger army but when Leonidas is defiant to the very end; this
scares him because he has never faced an adversary who has challenged him in
such a way. Before the battle is over, Leonidas vows to prove to Xerxes that a so-called 'God-King can
bleed.'
The
action scenes are nothing short of astonishing, full of moments where you can't
help but scream, 'YEAH!' and shake your fists in the air. They're often
over-the-top, with globs of blood flying everywhere, which is a direct
inspiration from Miller's heavily stylized artwork. Snyder over-indulges on the
slo-mo effect at times, especially the sequence where Leonidas rushes forward,
stabbing with his spear and swinging his sword, creating graceful arcs of blood
and dismembered limbs that make it seem like a graceful dance. Each of the
battles features a unique a Persian soldier and the one that stood out the most
would be the dark-clad Immortals. Obviously, their look is historically
inaccurate as these guys wear silver Kabuki masks while wielding twin katanas.
Several of the creatures shown don't actually appear in the comic itself but they fit rather seamlessly into Miller's vision and the ultra-violent world that he has
created.
"300"
was shot in super-imposition chroma key, which replicates every panel of the
comic perfectly. Each shot is awash with an amber tone, allowing the Spartans'
crimson capes to 'pop out' in every battle sequence. On Blu-Ray, the picture
quality is reference material, with close-up shots showing every skin pore,
along with the tiny little grooves and pockmarks on the Spartan's helms.
There's a fair amount of film grain about, giving "300" that gritty
edge but it never detracts from any of the detail and removing it would've made
the picture look too 'artificial.' Audio features a 'brute force' soundtrack
from Tyler Bates, who also worked on "Watchmen." He creates this epic
orchestral score combined with what seems like a five-hundred-person chorus.
Even mundane actions like Leonidas dropping his spear sounds like an
earthquake, to emphasize the importance of that particular moment. With a
surround sound setup, you're going to keep your neighbors up all night. Every
weapon clash and bone-crushing limb dismemberment sounds convincing, making you
feel that much more immersed into the film.
Released
on March 9, 2007, "300" received a barely positive reception,
managing to squeeze out a 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. Although some called the film
dumb with one-dimensional characters, most critics agreed that it was 'a
simple-minded
but visually exciting experience, full of blood, violence, and ready-made movie
quotes.' Moviegoers sang a decidedly different tune as the film earned an
impressive $71 million, earning the biggest opening weekend for March. The
domestic gross came out to $211 million and combined with the foreign gross,
$456 million. "300" may not be as though-provoking as
"Gladiator" but it features a simple yet effective tale, great acting
and heavily stylized action scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Final
Rating: 5 out of 5
"GIVE
THEM NOTHING...BUT TAKE FROM THEM...EVERYTHING!"
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