300

Review by Loc

How would you dress for war? Speedos and a cape, duh! Well, that might not be the most practical war attire, but it works for 300 Spartans in the new blockbuster appropriately named, 300. An adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, 300 retells the legendary tale of the Battle of Thermopylae where 300 brave warriors stood tall against an unceasing onslaught of Persian forces. Some say it was 300 against a thousand; legend has it at close to a million. Whatever the actual number may be, the bottom line remains the same: Spartans equal ass-kickers. And what about this flick? Quick hit: 300 does a decent job of ass-whooping even if it’s unable to unleash unmitigated hell.

Frank Miller has gained some recent Hollywood clout. He’s the original author of Sin City, and was named co-director of the feature film a couple years back. Now, his 300 has hit the big screen, full of stylized flair reminiscent of Sin City, and we’ve got ourselves a blockbuster. However, let us remember one important thing, Frank Miller wrote Robocop 2. Not only that, he followed up by penning Robocop 3 as well.

Granted, those are projects he had little control over once he turned in the script. However, before we anoint the man the greatest comic genius ever, let us also remember that his most seminal works occurred nearly 2 decades ago with The Dark Knight Returns and his legendary run on Daredevil. It’s only mentioned because 300 is a very good movie, but it’s not great. And that may be a result of the source material itself.

From a visual standpoint, 300 does a great job of capturing a fully stylized world. Brushed with a bronzed/gray hue, the entire film is a foreboding mix of picture-perfect shadows and desensitized violence. Specific shots amp up the frenetic feel, as battles are portrayed with aggressive mayhem. Blood flies, exploding from slashing swords, all digitally rendered to allow Matrix-style speed-up/slow-down bullet-time droplets to rain all down upon the battlefield.

Ah, my poetic ramblings, descriptive and superfluous at the same time. Much like the writing in the movie, these types of descriptive passages offer a nice change from the monosyllabic dialogue often found in Michael Bay-type flicks. There are some rousing lines in 300, and the multiple “fight for honor” speeches actually sound decent. Every “epic” after Braveheart has tried to use the pre-fight go-get-em speech, and failed quite miserably at it. 300 actually does a pretty good job, and mostly because those damn Spartans seem really intense.

So, what makes this flick decent instead of outstanding? When it comes down to it, the story is great for a graphic novel. Watching this battle unfold, the honor and bravery that these men represented, how a group of 300 stood up against an army of a million, quite awesome. However, when placed in the context of the film, where characters are fully interacting with one another, the lack of character development left the story a little flat. Yes, King Leonidas is a badass, so awesome that he’s a fighting king with a lion’s heart. But, there’s little intrigue in his character, he’s so honor-bound and steadfast that he represents a superhero. Throw in the helmet, speedos, and flowing cape, and you got yourself a Spartan superman, if you will. Evil Persian kind, Xerxes, is a tyrant who stands eight feet tall, speaks with a booming, god-like voice, and commands his legions with an iron will. These are great characters to write about, archetypes to build a fable of legend around, but they do not make very intriguing individuals on film. And while the focus centers around the battle and the ensuing onslaught, it’s the semi-lacking of character that brings this movie down a slight notch.

Overall, 300 is a visual feast. It’s not the optical orgasm that they were aiming for, but it does deliver some fantastic sequences nonetheless. The plotting and story are very good, and the accompanying visual representations are often magnificent. When the Persian messenger, in all his pride and hubris, is confronted by King Leonidas, the ensuing one-sided battle is a great example of comic-page captured on film. However, the flick plays out like a single-note: battle for honor, battle for pride, battle till death. Watch this flick for the fun of it, and you’ll be entertained. Out of 300 Spartans, 300 the film manages to wage war with 225 warriors. Watching this flick is like witnessing the retelling of the grand Battle of Thermopylae, complete with fantastical characters and superhuman feats of courage. And speedos.