"300" refuses to surrender, bludgeoning the audience with an optic concerto of carnage. Almost an Ancient Greek "Sin City," the movie is stark with the same gorgeous cinematography, blood-drenched action sequences and those familiar vibrant shades of red. And although this time the adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel is more graphic and less novel, few would say it ruins the movie.
Not to be confused as the next feel-good sports flick of the year about a wheelchair bowling team striving for the perfect game, the movie takes its title from Spartan legend. Leonidas (Gerard Butler, "Phantom of the Opera"), a Spartan king allegedly of the line of Hercules, held off hundreds of thousands of Persians at the narrow mountain pass near Thermopylae aided by the 300 fiercest soldiers of Sparta in 480 B.C.
In spite of a few subtle allusions, the movie does have its historical shortcomings. The Spartans aren't very Spartan — they are often laughing, joking, showing off and even wailing in physical and emotional anguish. The some 6,000 other Greeks of history are represented by no more than a few hundred in battle and a few score in other scenes. The movie also depicts the city as a sort of crucible for democracy — another fabrication. Lastly, although I'm no history major, so this could be inaccurate, but no way would a Spartan soldier emasculate himself by waxing, plucking and shaving off all of his chest, arm and leg hair. Obviously, Hollywood had something to do with that. Aside from the history, the plot wanes and does little aside from conduct the narrative from one fight to the next.
But who cares about history and plot, right? This movie is about a bloodbath, not an episode of Dr. Phil or a Victorian novel. Show me a guy getting six spears simultaneously impaled through his heart! This is where "300" scores its highest: body count. Filmed in a mere 60 days, the post-production took more than a year, using an eclectic group of the world's best visual effects editors to do the far more than 1,000 cut sequences. The results are nothing short of phenomenal.
Whether it is a wall of dead Persians, a crop field or an epic battle scene, every frame drips with raw vivacity. Such visual effects greatly enhance most characters. The great oracle of legend waves and wisps about as if she is truly ethereal. Xerxes, the self-proclaimed Persian god-king visually dazzles with his elaborate golden-stepped throne almost enough to live up to his title. The Spartans, as well, fearless in sleek-lined helmets and blood-red capes, douse the visual palate.
Never is the movie better than when such characters spray the earth with blood and viscera. As Leonidas and company slay the onslaughts, the action only improves. Decapitations, stabs, slices, punctures and punches leave bloodied bodies and lopped off limbs everywhere, all in stunningly choreographed slow-downs alongside a gripping musical score. It had people karate-chopping in their seats while shouting "HUH!"
The battles are also harrowing. Masked warriors, a raving giant, elephants, and many other unforgettable characters of varying levels of grotesqueness pit it out with the 300 brave. Throughout the film, fights are numerous, lavish and detailed, composing the majority of scenes as viewers would hope.
In slight mitigation, the film does pose itself as tamely propagandistic. With certain lines about freedom, justice and virtue, a healthily paranoid viewer may wonder to what extent the movie speaks about the Iraq War and the current administration's Spartan, never-surrender attitude toward implementing democracy. Certain depictions reek of the U.S. Army: patriotic iron-forged determination against a fearless Middle-Eastern Other in addition to dying in honor so that others may go back to finish what one started. One would seem to err in taking Bush as so lion hearted, or Leonidas as of garden variety, and also in taking a movie ticket for a ticket to enlist.
The movies have long been a scene for violence and sex, but here Uncle Sam seems to be looking for a capitalization on catharsis into jingoism. Paranoid or not, such forced dialogue is at times laughable, though not ghastly damaging to the picture, as it is mostly sparse.
"300" is a blood-for-blood slugfest that must be experienced in theaters. It is the reason to go to the movies — this film was made for the UltraScreen and IMAX. The big screen, big sound and explosive visuals blow any HDTV out of the water. While some may find its politics problematic, the movie pays the price of admission with enough action to satisfy any fan of the genre or the silver screen.
Grade: 3.5 out of 5