300 | REVIEW

"This is blasphemy! This is madness!", protests the Persian messenger. "Madness?" asks Leonidas. "This...is...SPARTA!"

Violence, war, brutality, bloodlust, gore, and a very hot Queen Gorgo (Lena Heady). It's not intellectual, but it sure as hell looks effin' sweet! 300 is an epic retelling of the Battle Of Thermopylae through the eyes of Frank Miller and director Zack Snyder. It tells the tale of King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and how he defends his beloved Sparta against a monstrous Persian army, with only 300 brave Spartan soldiers on his side.

It's pretty obvious that this review is going to favor 300. There's so little that's not right in the film that it's hard not to adore it. From the moment the first trailer went online, millions were awestruck by the beauty of what they saw. Epic scenarios and vibrant yet thematic colors that made 300 look different and unique from other movies. And from that moment on, lines like "This is Sparta" and "Tonight We Dine In Hell" became some of the most recognizable quotes in film history. Fans of Frank Miller's original comic of the same name were thrilled to see how the pages of the comic book had transcended onto the big screen, and moreover, how the feel and color scheme of the graphic novel was kept intact throughout the movie.

300 is effin' eye-candy. The movie was shot completely using bluescreen technology, including a bluescreen tank full of water that was used for the Oracle scene. This allowed Zack Snyder to tweak with backgrounds and scenery, making them as epic as he wanted them to look. It also enabled accurate size scaling in the case of the Persian King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), who in the movie is at least 8-feet tall. Frank Miller, creator of the graphic novel, kept a close eye on the production, making sure the characters and story arc were protected and were not diminished during their transition to the silver screen. All in all, their hard work pulled off and 300 became in instant success, breaking box-office records and setting the standards for violence in a war flick. The fantastic choreography of the fight scenes had fans amazed and at the edge of their seats.

Speaking of hard work, Gerard Butler performs his own stunts in 300, and actually took to effort to 'buff-up' for this movie. The guy was born to be Leonidas, and has turned the character into a pop-culture icon with a cult-like following, not to mention one of the biggest bad-asses in film history. He's brutal, he's violent, he's bad and merciless but hey, he's the f**kin' hero, baby! Sometimes people wanna' see a hero that does the right thing and abides by moral values. But sometimes, we just wanna' see the good guys kick ass and tear bad guys apart! It's weird that no matter how much we've evolved and matured as a civilized species, as humans we always find entertainment in violence. That's why the gladiators were such a big deal in ancient Rome. That's why wrestling became a TV-ratings phenomenon. And that's why flicks like 300 draw in the masses; because they promise us a hero that sheds blood and shows no mercy! And I'm not sure if the girls were attracted to the violence, but I'm sure three-hundred barely-clad men with f'n eight-packs and python-sized biceps must be really hard to resist. It's pure eye-candy to you, ain't it, ladies? We see right through you, yes we do. You and your innocent eyes. Bleh!

I'd say the only downside to 300 was the lack of an actual story. There's everything from good acting to excellent CGI to beautifully done landscaping, but no real story. 300 basically relies on one subtitle; the battle for Sparta against a massive Persian army. That's all there is to it. It sometimes feels too simple. There are other elements to it like women's rights in ancient times and the proverbial 'David vs. Goliath' stuff, but it lacks a compelling story that grows with the movie. From start to finish, it's all about one battle and nothing else. Unfortunately, this causes a chain reaction which allows the movie to stretch to a maximum of 2-hours, which is (in my opinion) a short runtime for a war story. Hey, I'd enjoy 300 if it was 3 whole hours, I wouldn't mind a runtime like that! Of course, this is barely noticeable because of all the intense fight scenes, but those who prefer a heavy story upon everything else may find it hard to enjoy 300.

Tyler Bates handled the score for 300 and seriously, the man is good at what he does. I've known him from movies such as See No Evil, which doesn't have a noticeably impressive soundtrack, but Mr.Bates really gets to show off his composing skills in this one. Plus, 'Just Like You Imagined' by Nine Inch Nails is an awesome addition to the film's soundtrack and was a perfect fit for the trailers. It may not meet Lord Of The Rings-standards, but it does an amazing job nonetheless.

300 has received critical acclaim and is seemingly 'the most accurate comic-to-film adaptation so far'. Despite its success, the movie has had its heat from a large number of people who accuse the film of being inaccurate and racist towards the ancient Persians. I'd like to clear something up here. You have to understand that 300 is not a biopic or a history lesson therefore it's far from being accurate. It's not even considered a true story, only a story based on an actual historical battle in Greece. It is, instead, a retelling of the ancient battle via the eyes and imagination of Frank Miller. He never said it would be accurate and he never meant for it to be. He just knew about the tale and decided to re-imagine it onto the pages of a graphic novel. I'm sure the real Spartans wore full-metal armor, and Xerxes was never really that tall, but Frank Miller doesn't do history text books, he creates comics. And 300 was never really meant to make the Persians look bad or evil or barbaric. There has to be a good guy, and there has to be a bad guy. Unless you're Clint Eastwood and can afford to shoot two angles ala Letters From Iwo Jima and Flags Of Our Fathers, you have to pick just one good guy. The essence to the story of 300 is the emphasis on bravery and patriotism. Leonidas just had to be the good guy, there's no other way to tell the story!
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Wrap : 300 gets a really nice 4.7 out of 5.0. It's visually stunning and extremely well-done. Although it's all bluescreen, the scenery fits in well with the movie and never looks fake-ish...only very artistic. The fight scenes are extraordinary and have set a new benchmark for war epics, because the violence is depicted and choreographed so well that the brutality of the Spartans are actually seen step by step, so to speak. Even the score is spot-on. For those who missed this on the big screen, it really is a big loss. But, a DVD or Blu-Ray would do fine and if you love good movies then 300 is a must-watch. It may not be a family-flick, but it's something that's not to be missed.