Reviews & Previews - The 300

Posted on Monday, March 12, 2007 at 06:00 PM

The 300

By: S. Tran

Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey,
Directed By: Zack Snyder
Running Time: 117 minutes
Rated: Rated R for graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity.

Manly Men

Plenty of movie makers try and make films aimed squarely at the young male demographic, full of testosterone, action and plenty of heads a-rolling. Few of these movies are as well done and look as good as The 300 though. This is one of those films that truly breaks new ground and will no doubt inspire plenty of imitators in the years to come.

Inspired by historic events The 300 is the fictionalized account of a small band of Spartan warriors led by King Leonidas (Butler) who set off to defend Greece against the amassed forces of the Persian empire.

Shot almost entirely on a soundstage with a green screen the film's backgrounds are mostly computer generated. This allows for a very stylized, sepia infused look which helps evoke the graphic novel it was based on. Of all the films I have seen based on comic books this is by far the best job I have seen in recreating the look of the comic. If you were to freeze a frame of the movie you could easily imagine it on the pages of the artist's sketchbook.

The story itself is fairly basic and is just a framework wrapped around the meat of the film which consists of lengthy but well choreographed action sequences. The film delivers violence, gore and action by the bucket load. With liberal use of slow motion the battles are evoke furious action without becoming a confusing mess because the camera stayed back so we could see what was happening. Unlike the brutal fighting we saw in a movie like Braveheart the violence is more artful than raw.

While Leonidas and the other guys are off being boys his wife Queen Gorgo (Headey) is back at home trying to drum up support for the battle as the politicians are holding off sending the army to help Leonidas. Headey provides a little bit of eye candy for the guys in the audience and gives a pretty good performance even getting the biggest cheer of the film when she shows a little grit herself.

Being an adaption of a Frank Miller novel the movie also has some pretty funny dialogue to give us a breather between the battle scenes. Leonidas gets most of the laughs as he displays his machismo and delivers his blustery lines with good conviction.

This is a great looking film that you should check out if you like action movies. It is a well executed, well acted movie with incredible visuals and a thumping soundtrack. Even though it is a one note film it plays that note really well and delivers everything that it promises in the ads.

4 out of 5 stars.