300 Review.

Thoughts: Before Zack Snyder directed the Man of Steel, he made 300. The movie is based on the Frank Miller's comic book series of the same name, which is loosely based on the actual Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC). While it is based on historical events, 300 is a fantasy movie for sure. There are strange creatures and a complete disregard for physics, which is not a huge problem if you expect it before watching the movie. Basically, there is only one reason to watch the movie, the battle scenes. Although they are not the best I have seen, the fights were a lot of bloody good fun to watch. Even though 300's action scenes were enjoyable, the movie was just too weird for my taste. I really wanted to like the movie, but it just did not work for me. The action and visuals were great but the rest of it did not impressive me. Interesting fact, David Wenham, who played Faramir in the Lord of the Rings, played the narrator of the movie.

Normally I would not say that a movie only for guys, because there are a lot of really cool women who enjoy movies like Die Hard, however 300 is definitely a pure guy movie. I guess I can see some women enjoying it, but for those who have not seen it and follow my blog, this is probably not recommended.


Directed by: Zack Snyder
Genre: Action, Fantasy, Comic Book
Release Date: March 9, 2007
Running Time: 117 minutes
MMPA rating: R

The Good: Cool action scenes, Two really awesome quotes, Visual spectacle, Good soundtrack

The Bad: Freaking weird, Simple plot, Tons of corny dialogue, More style than substance,

After the first fight scene it has a lot of crazy and weird looking enemies, Everything looked really really weird but if you like that kind of stuff you might like the movie, Simple plot, Cheesy dialogue,

Disclaimer: We do not like it when a movie was a lot of weird stuff in them, if you like that kind of stuff you might like the movie.

Extreme Warning: Normally I do not give a special warning about R rated movies, however I deem it necessary to say that 300 is for mature audiences only due to its sexual content, unless censored.

Plot: Dilios, a Spartan soldier, narrates the story of Leonidas, from boyhood to the throne of Sparta. Years later, a Persian messenger arrives at the gates of Sparta demanding the submission of Sparta to King Xerxes. In response to this demand, Leonidas and his guards kick the messenger into a large well. Knowing this will prompt a Persian attack, Leonidas visits the Ephors, ancient leprosy-ridden priests whose blessing he needs before the Spartan council will authorize going to war. He proposes they repel the numerically superior Persians by using the terrain of Thermopylae (the Hot Gates) and funnel the Persians into a narrow pass between the rocks and the sea. The Ephors consult the Oracle, who decrees that Sparta must not go to war during their religious festival Carnea. As Leonidas departs, two agents of Xerxes appear (one of them – Theron – a Spartan).
Leonidas follows his plan anyway, setting out with only 300 soldiers, whom he calls his personal guards to avoid needing the council's permission. Though he regards the mission as certain suicide, he hopes the sacrifice will spur the council to unite against Persia. On the way to Thermopylae, Arcadians join the Spartans. At Thermopylae they construct a wall to contain the approaching Persian advance. As construction goes on, Leonidas meets Ephialtes, a hunchbacked Spartan(he looks really weird) in exile whose parents fled Sparta to spare him certain infanticide. Wanting to redeem his father's name, Ephialtes asks to join the fight; he warns Leonidas of a secret path the Persians could use to outflank and surround them. Though Leonidas sympathizes with Ephialtes' will to fight, he turns him down, as Ephialtes cannot properly hold a shield: this would compromise the Spartans phalanx formation. Watch the movie to see what happens next.


Plot: 4.3/10- Basically, 300 Spartans fight over 3000 Persians and there is a political subplot added, which wasn't half bad. The plot is simple and only there to deliver the visuals and fighting. Some the what it means to be a Spartan warrior is good, but do not watch 300 for a strong plot. Also the dialogue is intentionally over-the-top and ridiculous, however there are a few memorable lines.


Action: 8.9/10- After a slow setup, 300 was action packed with several battles scenes. The battles were over-the-top, and bloody, in a good way. While the fighting was absurdly unrealistic, it really does not matter because the stylized battles scenes were bloody good fun to watch.


Acting: 4.1/10-  Lena Headey gave the best performance of the cast, however there was little acting involved throughout the movie. Gerard Butler as King Leonidas was ridiculously over-the-top shouting his lines. He played the ultimate tough-guy role well, but I could not say his performance was good by any means. David Wenham did well as the narrator added an epic feel to the movie. The always fantastic Michael Fassbender (X-Men: First Class) delivered his memorable line well, however his role was very minor.


Special effects: 8.0/10- The effects are the double edged sword. Some, like myself, will appreciate the comic book like visual style, while others might dislike it for looking fake and computer generated. It is purely depending on personal taste.


Soundtrack: 8.0/10- Many of the tracks combined heavy metal and orchestral style music for a few epic battle tracks. The rest of the soundtrack complemented the movie and worked well within context.

Comedy: N/A- There were some "it was so cheesy it's funny dialogue" but not much else.

Would I Watch This Again: Maybe, purely because of the action and visuals.

Overall: 6.2/10- 300 was exactly what it tried to be, even if the execution could have been better.

Closing comments: The amount of fan following for 300 still baffles me, even the critical response was been less than positive, but the action was quite awesome at times.

"THIS. IS. SPARTA!"

Recommended for *Mature*: Action movie fans, Comic Book movie fans, Fantasy movie fans,


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