For the first blockbuster of the year...it gets a deserving thumbs up...not perfect but perfect for the red blooded movie goer

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2007)

300 has everything that you can expect going into it having seen trailers and the name "Frank Miller" attached to it. As far as Epic Blockbusters go I am almost certain 300 is the most violent film I have laid eyes on. Whereas most historical battles whether fictionalized or based on reality imply more of the gruesome death and gore of battle 300 brings it to blazing life with brilliant well done CGI and over the top brutal effects right where you'd expect them to be. The film is a non-apoligetic blatant gore fest and satisfies every teenage males desire for blood. You sit there thinking...damn it'd be cool if his leg flew off and spun in the air with blood spurting...and the film makers said...yes, yes it would...so they did. Heads coming up, beasts of all kind being pierced and falling, arrows slicing through bodies like butter. All of this is done in the best possible way to fit the story but that's the major part where 300 fails is the story or lack thereof. I mean of course there is the necessary and fairly well known historical beginnings to Sparta and their 300 soldiers that hold back Xerxes until they can't anymore and are slaughtered but there is little story beyond that and 95% of the film is just one big constant battle. The film is not a historical epic by any means but Science fiction based on a historical event...hence the fictional fairy tale like creatures and mythology involved and even the Spartan fighting style was changed from realistic to completely different by the film makers in order to make it look better on screen. There was no attempt to make 300 appear historically accurate and that's okay but it will fall victim to those who want it to be.
Gerard Butler is the well trained reigning King of Sparta Leonidas. As the King Butler is the perfect Alpha Male. Brutal and strong, and powerful and well spoken and respected and yet has this soft, romantic, gritty style to him. Butler has always been one of my favorite character actors and has had some really great and diverse roles and he is quite good in this role considering the story and character depth isn't great. Butler should be a bigger star and hopefully this enormous success will launch him further into the lime light. Lena Headey is his beloved Queen Gorgo who is also a very strong female considering the time of the film and masculinity in it. Rodrigo Santoro is absolutely fantastic as the evil leader of the Persians Xerxes. The very disappointing fact is that they completely underused him despite making him look like an absolute towering, evil, god-like monster. He spends maybe ten minutes on screen and you desperately want to see more of him and a battle directly between Santoro and Butler would have been incredible. The supporting cast are all very good in their respective roles but aside from a very few small story arcs the characters are not focused on in any great manner.
That is truly 300's only and major downfall is the lack of any story or really major, enthralling epic plot. I mean, I realize that they made 300 to be exactly what it is...an enormous, gruesome, terrifying and artistically created masterpiece battle and they succeed in that 100%. You aren't likely to find another epic battle sequence like the ongoing one in this film and it's well worth seeing for that alone but I personally wanted so much more depth to it. I wanted more story, and more romance, and more characters with bigger stories. I wanted this to be the Spartan legacy that Lord Of The Rings was, or Braveheart and instead they made a mainstream action film with heads rolling. Nonetheless two weeks into release and well over 100 million dollars 300 is the first major smash success of 2007 and it truly is easy to see why. This film could be seen again and again and blow you away every time. Go see it on the big screen or the IMAX would be incredible!! 8/10