Rating of
3/4
300 is a Big Screaming Muscle of a Comic Movie
efrain - wrote on 11/14/07
If you blended “Braveheart”, “Gladiator”, “Sin City”, and “Romeo + Juliet” together in a sort of protein shake, and drank that while wrestling a few sweaty, half-naked body-builders during a pro-war rally – that’s kind of what “300” is like.
A giant, sinewy muscle of a movie, “300” is a fictionalized, epic account of the real-life Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C., wherein King Leonidas of Sparta led 300 of his finest soldiers against the Persians. The battle and defeat of Sparta inspired all of Greece to unite against the Persians to create the world’s first democracy.
Director, Zack Snyder (“Dawn of the Dead) starts “300” with a visual crash course on the brutal warrior culture of Sparta, as originally imagined by graphic novel writer/artist, Frank Miller (“Sin City”). Props to Snyder and crew for imagining a brilliantly beautiful movie. Every shot in this movie is like a moody painting, with lighting at every convenient angle, emphasizing every dramatic bulge and glare. This is bad sometimes because so much of it is obviously fake. On the other hand, “300” is like a living comic book, and a perfect fit for moody imagery.
As one of Sparta’s own warriors gives us the glorious details of the battle at Thermopylae, we almost see the word bubbles popping up on screen as characters grunt and roar, hacking people up left and right, blood spattering in all directions. He inspires Sparta with the tale of the well-intentioned madman, Leonidas, and his battle for freedom at any cost.
This is where I think “The Madness of King George” is a good alternative title for the movie. As I followed the possible double-meanings in the movie, I couldn’t help but think of the current situation involving the U.S. and Iraq. I could be reading into it more than I should be.
Anyway, if you’re an average Joe on the street, you’ll love this movie. Even cinema-loving ivory tower folk will find “300” to be a delightfully wicked explosion of Hollywood excess. It may be full of confusing subtext, lacking in clarity of meaning and moral, but “300” is an amazing movie-going experience. Questions will arise after the haze and blood settle, but you’ll forget about it by the time you use the restroom. And by that time, like me, you’ll be wondering where to buy a red cape. I’m wearing mine now ;)
