It has a cartoonish, computerized look that gives the locations a mostly static feel.

Rating: 4/10 (12 February 2011)

Effects-driven period piece chronicles a minute army of three hundred Spartans in their crusade against thousands of Persian slaves. Despite the period in which it takes place, the whole movie feels like a stylized graphic novel, probably due in no small part to the fact that it is based on one. It has a cartoonish, computerized look that gives the locations a mostly static feel; not to mention that the action and the carnage take precedence over an under-emotional story and two dimensional characters. It feels like a big budget flick that was shot entirely on a sound stage, and while some of the effects tend to be overwhelming, we just happen to live in an age where it takes much more than an abundance of computer imagery to truly entice us; and for a movie about Sparta, the special effects just aren't necessary.