I saw 300 last night and I figured I’d give you all a review of it and remind you of the Crackdown contest from Microsoft and Warner Bros. It ends on March 19 so be sure you get your entries in.
Director: Zach Snyder
Producer: Warner Bros.
Review:
300 is based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel about the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae, where the King of Sparta led his army against the advancing Persians. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy in one of the most famous last stands of history against the Persian King Xerxes and his army of well over 100,000. 300 is visually stunning! I wanted to start off with that to prepare you for something your eyes will thank you for seeing. The artistry behind the production was amazing.
King Leonidas, played by Gerard Butler, leads 300 of the best Spartan warriors into battle and begins what was truly a fight to see. His men fight to the death with their shields, swords and spears. They are one as Leonidas states…one well-formed fighting machine with each of them protecting each other at all costs. The battle begins and you see just how graphic the movie is but it’s done with such an incredible artist’s touch that it never seems over the top. The crimson red of the Spartan’s robes match that of the sea of carnage they create with literally mountains of enemies.
They encounter beasts, magic and immortals alike yet they stand strong against all odds; against the numbers that would stagger any ordinary warrior. The acting in the movie was decent enough to carry the film’s rage but not enough to get the audience attached to the characters in such a way that you felt their pain. It didn’t for me at least. There was hardly any character development outside of King Leonidas leaving you to hopefully know the history behind the battle to form your connection. Saying that though doesn’t take away from there being a general sense of emotion and panic which gives you a sense of hope that somehow the Spartans will prevail. I’m sure the women in the audience were pleased either way as all of the Spartans looked incredibly ripped. (this was intentional to bring realism to the warriors and how barbaric the times were)
In a special on HBO, the cast commented on how they trained six (6) days a week in order to look the part physically. They all did. I can’t say enough about the look and feel of this film. I recommend it and not because of the 70+ million dollars it took in this past weekend at the box office. It is an epic tale of strength, hope and no retreat. 300 is a must-see film! 4 out of 5 stars.
March 13th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
[quote comment="20577"][quote comment="20463"]I usually love these period pieces…Troy, Alexander, Gladiator, HBO’s Rome, etc.
But the trailers and behind the scenes I’ve seen make this movie look flat out stupid. It looks like they stopped trying to do the era justice and added a bunch of CGI bull*** then marketed it to the punk generation that is easily gimicked.
I need substance, not just unrealistic eye candy.[/quote]
When you think about it though, in those movies you just named, other than Rome which I never watched, all used some form of CGI in them to make it more realistic. I think the look of this film was due to Frank Miller’s vision based on his book and to me it wasn’t so bad. It was more entertaining than educational.[/quote]
For safety sake some of the fighting action was CGI but it was not CGI for the sake of adding groovy effects like 300 does.
Deacon, how can you say this is not a period piece? It takes place near the same time all all the other films de jour do.
March 14th, 2007 at 2:57 am
not a period piece in terms of those movies you named…meaning they weren’t going for accuracy but moreso action/adventure. those other movies kept closer to the times so to speak.
March 17th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Yeah I watched 300 the day it came out with a bunch of my friends. Man, it sure was pretty awesome; we had a 70ft screen with surround sound speakers all around us. Plus there were a a lot of people there who were cheering at some parts of the movie. lol
March 19th, 2007 at 9:46 am
[...] Spartans not only have a thing against Persians but also against any theatrical competition. I loved the movie personally and if you haven’t seen it, then do it…do [...]
March 20th, 2007 at 8:41 am
thanks everyone for making this review the NUMBER ONE search result on Yahoo for “300 the movie review”
i love the support…keep it up!
April 26th, 2007 at 10:18 am
[...] 300-based game where you’re the spartans in a huge war and combat is all you [...]
May 16th, 2007 at 12:39 pm
[...] featuring both the HD version and standard definition version will retail for $39.95. I wrote a review for 300 that for a moment was the top search result for the keywoards ‘300 movie review’. [...]