There is little doubt that by now you've heard at least something about the latest Frank Miller graphic novel adaptation 300, a retelling of the ancient battle of Thermopylae fought between the Spartans and the Persians. Critics have said just about everything concerning this film: its runaway macho-ism, its brilliant film making, its juvenile, it testosterone-driven drivel, its inspired story-telling, its senseless violence, its great, its crap. Somewhere in that list of diverging opinion and analysis, the truth indeed lies.I had the opportunity to see this epic clash of sword and shield on the big screen of the IMAX. (aka you take big and epic, you stuff it in a visual cannon, stuff WAY too much powder in it and shoot it into you face at point blank range!) Yes, seeing it on the HUGE screen was pretty sweet; this film was nothing short of epic in tone and scale! It filled my entire field of vision.
I shall start my analysis with the good. I was hesitant to see this film in the theater because, honestly, the trailers did not really psyche me up, it didn't make my blood boil, nor did it appeal to me it what appeared to be two hours of muscled men shouting at the top of their lungs. I was glad that it turned out to be nowhere near that. In fact, as far as story goes, it was balanced between the action and the more subdued aspects of the tale, and was ultimately an entertaining story.
One thing that the trailers did very accurately preview was this film's visual flare. It was a visual delight! There are those who may find it a bit overdone at times with the use of overflowing sepia tone. Some critics have flat out said that the landscapes didn't look real, but it didn't bother me. Other criticism I had read prior to viewing included bad dialogue and too much gore, neither of which I agree with. The dialogue was fine (and honestly, a secondary feature to this particular film) and the gore was actually less than what I was anticipating, whatever that means. I also found the actors to be more than competent (Gerard Butler, Lena Heady, Dominic West, Vincent Regan, et al.), with equal credit deservedly going to director Zach Snyder.
And what of the action? Yeah, what about the action? For swords, shields, spears and bare hands, there is no question that 300 delivered. NO QUESTION! Yes, they even had battle rhinos and war elephants! And yes, the Spartans took it too everyone and everything involved. Now, the Persians also had what appeared to be Uruk Hai (Lord of the Rings) and demons taken straight out of the old PC classic Doom which seemed a bit corny to me. I fully admit that this is simply a nit-pick based on my personality because in certain situations I can only suspend my disbelief so far and so long in proportion to said situations. I do also realize that is a feature of the fact that this is a legendary story with a mythos on par with that of Hercules, the Illyiad and Odyssey and we are being told the story as a narrative. It'll work for most. I just didn't completely work for me. But no matter what, the efforts of Leonidas and the 300 are legendary and my nit-picks do not by any means ruin the movie.
The not so good (more of a minor annoyance than anything) includes the fact that the movie gets a bit heavy at the end as suddenly the oratory speaks of how Leonidas and the 300 fought for everything good, right and just.... apple pie, blah blah blah blah blah.... yeah, we understood that much from the first act. Again, the intent is to add to the glory that given Leonidas and the 300, but it just hit me weird at the time. (I've never been big on reading the epics of old, whether Hercules, Beowulf, etc.)
On the up-side, the Spartans did in actuality win a tactical victory historically, despite ultimately losing the battle and the film doesn't stray from that. Facing a Persian army that was literally exponentially larger than their small force of 300 Spartans and several hundred allied Greeks, they inflicted a lot of attrition (which was exceptionally fun to watch!), based on factors that included superior fighters, location and tactics. Whether historically accurate or not, which is completely irrelevant to the purpose of the movie, all of this was very entertainingly demonstrated in 300. There is left absolutely no doubt that the Spartans are not your average men. None whatsoever. Hell, the women weren't your average women either.
In the end, this film was a hit with the IMAX crowd. In fact, aside from negative reviews that I've read, I have not spoken to a single person who didn't enjoy it. I enjoyed it too and may go to see it again before it leaves theaters. 300 is a movie with the sole purpose to exude epic-ness and it certainly succeeds.
If you are in rampaging mood, definitely go see it. If you want to see a good epic movie, definitely go see it. If you want to see Spartans just kick some good, old fashioned ass, you must see this movie! 300 gets my blessing; the Oracle says "Go see it!" 8/10
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