300 is a movie based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller published by Dark Horse comics in 1998. The movie details the battle of Thermopile, 300 Spartan solders vs the million plus of the Persian army. Some of you might be aware of the actual story of this battle that the facts of has been disputed for countless years. Many of the facts, namely the number of Persian solders and the number of Greek solders from other cities, are widely disputed by history scholars. The one fact that cannot be disputed is that there were only 300 Spartan warriors and they were heavily out number, conservatively 100 to 1, and that they absolutely punished the Persians and brutally slain so many that all would know, till the end of time, that the 300 Spartans were some of the fierce, highly skilled and battle savvy warriors ever to walk this earth.
Put your history book down because this movie is not trying to be historic fact. This a historic battle depicted as a comic book with Hollywood moxy and juiced with testosterone and a shot of pure adrenaline. This version of the story is balls out, unapologetically graphic, gratuitous, and brutal. This CG stylized action flick is full of with quick witted dialog and epic battle scenes that will please the carnal beast hidden in every man, (and some women.)
One of the things that was surprising to me was the acting in it is quite good. It has it's heart felt moments that added depth and emotion to the story without being sappy or heavy handed. The dialog was very true to the original graphic novel as well as many shots in the movie were pulled right from Frank Miller's comic page. This movie honors the spirit of Miller's book much like Sin City did, and is a true testament to the respect that Frank Miller is given to his master works from Hollywood Producers and Directors.
This Movie was directed by Zach Snyder, director of the Dawn of the Dead remake a few years back. Zach showed great skill and pulled out all the stops and new tricks in digital film making. The look of the movie was vivacious, visceral and visually appetizing, much like the graphic novel. The battle scenes were heavy in the CG and noticeably so, but not to the detriment of the movie because it fit with the heightened sense and surreal feeling this movie is shooting for. This movie has heart,a pumping blood soaked heart that makes one long for the days that you could swing an axe into someone's face.
This movie could have been a disaster and very well could have turned into a sappy male bonding, homo erotic "I love you man" type movie but no! It's tough, gritty and raw till the bitter, blood soaked end. Never to shed a pussiefied tear or besmirch the legacy of great warriors with unwarrented
sentimental drivel. This film is more like Lord of the Rings than Braveheart, so make sure you know what your about to watch. A couple of the dudes setting next to me commented on some of the exaggerated characters that look more like creatures than people, not realizing it was done for dramatic effect and cinematic splendor.
I only recognized one person in this entire movie and that was David Wenham, who played Faramir in Lord of the Rings. King Leonidas is played by Gerard Butler (who played opposite Christian Bale and Mathew McConaughey in 2002's Reign of Fire) now proved that not only can he hold the screen in a leading role but he can do it with intensity and charisma. He transformed himself into this character for this role and knows when to play it soft or blow your pansy little socks off by roaring "This... is... Sparta!". I can't say enough about his performance and look forward to seeing more of him in the future. The other notable performances were by the Queen of Sparta played by the ravishing Lena Headey. Her performance really gave the movie some true thespian legitimacy.
The other members of the supporting cast holds up and add many dynamic characters and personalities to the movie. This movie hold up as one of the best of the early films of 2007. It's one of those movies that is just a blast to see on the big screen and just escape into. It's not the best movie of this type of genre and has it's minor flaws but all in all it's a very strong film that I must go see a second time.
Put your history book down because this movie is not trying to be historic fact. This a historic battle depicted as a comic book with Hollywood moxy and juiced with testosterone and a shot of pure adrenaline. This version of the story is balls out, unapologetically graphic, gratuitous, and brutal. This CG stylized action flick is full of with quick witted dialog and epic battle scenes that will please the carnal beast hidden in every man, (and some women.)
One of the things that was surprising to me was the acting in it is quite good. It has it's heart felt moments that added depth and emotion to the story without being sappy or heavy handed. The dialog was very true to the original graphic novel as well as many shots in the movie were pulled right from Frank Miller's comic page. This movie honors the spirit of Miller's book much like Sin City did, and is a true testament to the respect that Frank Miller is given to his master works from Hollywood Producers and Directors.
This Movie was directed by Zach Snyder, director of the Dawn of the Dead remake a few years back. Zach showed great skill and pulled out all the stops and new tricks in digital film making. The look of the movie was vivacious, visceral and visually appetizing, much like the graphic novel. The battle scenes were heavy in the CG and noticeably so, but not to the detriment of the movie because it fit with the heightened sense and surreal feeling this movie is shooting for. This movie has heart,a pumping blood soaked heart that makes one long for the days that you could swing an axe into someone's face.
This movie could have been a disaster and very well could have turned into a sappy male bonding, homo erotic "I love you man" type movie but no! It's tough, gritty and raw till the bitter, blood soaked end. Never to shed a pussiefied tear or besmirch the legacy of great warriors with unwarrented
sentimental drivel. This film is more like Lord of the Rings than Braveheart, so make sure you know what your about to watch. A couple of the dudes setting next to me commented on some of the exaggerated characters that look more like creatures than people, not realizing it was done for dramatic effect and cinematic splendor.
I only recognized one person in this entire movie and that was David Wenham, who played Faramir in Lord of the Rings. King Leonidas is played by Gerard Butler (who played opposite Christian Bale and Mathew McConaughey in 2002's Reign of Fire) now proved that not only can he hold the screen in a leading role but he can do it with intensity and charisma. He transformed himself into this character for this role and knows when to play it soft or blow your pansy little socks off by roaring "This... is... Sparta!". I can't say enough about his performance and look forward to seeing more of him in the future. The other notable performances were by the Queen of Sparta played by the ravishing Lena Headey. Her performance really gave the movie some true thespian legitimacy.
The other members of the supporting cast holds up and add many dynamic characters and personalities to the movie. This movie hold up as one of the best of the early films of 2007. It's one of those movies that is just a blast to see on the big screen and just escape into. It's not the best movie of this type of genre and has it's minor flaws but all in all it's a very strong film that I must go see a second time.
