300 is the epitome of a comic book brought to life

Rating: 7/10 (8 March 2007)

300 is the epitome of a comic book brought to life. And while that's not a bad thing, it's not necessarily good either.
On the plus side, 300 (based on what I've read since I haven't seen the graphic novel its based on), authentically captures Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's visuals. Some panels from the book that I've seen testify to director Zack Snyder's success in reenacting 300 for the big screen. But even taken on its own, 300 is undoubtedly visually striking.
On the other hand, Snyder's fealty also ensures that 300 is as one-dimensional and emotionally hollow as a comic book page. It's hard to take the proceedings entirely seriously when your actors have impossibly ripped and defined chests and your lead actress is shown with nipples as large as pencil erasers.
As a result, the film is never as emotionally engaging as other movies it is sure to be compared with, such as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Even a climactic scene in which Leonidas faces down a virtual cloud of Persian arrows while declaring his love for Queen Gorgo, which he could never tell her in person, fails to move the audience. In fact, the target audience of this film, like Gladiator, might well be wrestling fans, particularly given its homo-erotic undertones.
Given Snyder's obvious focus on the visuals, the actors are left on their own to cope as well as they can, with mixed results. Lena Headley gives dignity to Queen Gorgo but Gerard Butler has the unhappy task of bringing to life King Leonidas, who seems to have to scream every other line of dialog once he leaves Sparta.
Overall, as comic book adaptations go, 300 is way above such clunkers as Ghost Rider and Daredevil but not in the same league as Spider-man, X-Men and Batman Begins.