Rating of
3/4
300 Lacks Something
Alex - wrote on 08/13/07
[Update: I saw this movie again. It is a pure action movie. For that, I have changed my rating to 3 stars. Entertaining.]
Runtime: 117 minutes. Actual runtime: 65 minutes. Almost half of the movie was shot in slow motion. That is a little excessive. I admit there were some cool slow mo battle scenes but the beginning and uninteresting scenes do not need slow motion attached to make it cool.
Don't get me wrong, I liked this movie to a certain extent. It is amazing to me that with virtually 0 character development, I actually cared for the Spartans. Gerard Butler does a great job of speaking his mythical words and the rest of the cast does what they are supposed to. The cinematography is good (with the exception of the over excessive Mel Gibson slow motion), and action scenes were well don as well.
So where is the problem(s)? Simple 0 development of the myth and the story. I have no knowledge of who the 300 men were and what the accomplished. And, the ending doesn't even tell us whether they accomplished their mission or not. If they are going to tell a true story, the give us some information. If they are going to tell us a myth then have the characters be mythical. While not as good (less stylized and worse acting), Troy suffered the same fate.
Overall not a bad movie, but nor would I ever recommend it to anyone. To this I say it's ok and recommended for action fans, and those with some knowledge of the 300 Spartans who tried to save Greece.
Recent Comments
Topher - wrote on 08/14/07 at 08:42 AM CT
300 Review comment
spot on . . . no character, but amazing spectacle
