Amazingly brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (4 April 2007)

If you're wanting an accurate history lesson, or a mind-boggling plot, then I would give '300' a miss, but seeing as I went along for the special effects and Gerard Butler's deep Scottish tones, I was not disappointed in the slightest. Firstly, the special effects are amazing, especially the frequent blood splatters that are flung across the screen. The soundtrack is amazing as well, really adding to the drama of the battle scenes and the tenderness of the bedroom scenes.
David Wenham does a brilliant job of narrating the film, but it was some of Gerard Butler's speeches that sent chills up and down my spine. The constant blood-lust is toned down slightly by the flicks back to Sparta, but the film never lingers too long.
In summary it is a fast-moving, special effects feast. True, the dialogue might be a bit dodgy in places, but a viewer can forgive this quite easily. And before anyone start complaining, the background to the film is meant to look like its computer-generated. That's the whole point, and it allows Zack Snyder to emphasise the contrast between the characters.