Let the world know -Spartan men are really muscular

Rating: 7/10 (3 April 2007)

Atkins diet is a pretty tough diet. Trust me, i'm going through it right now. The Atkins diet, for those of you who don't buy their clothes at linen stores, is a diet that restricts the consumption of carbon hydrates to a bare minimum. You can have a bacon and scrambled eggs but you should steer clear of bread, rice, pasta, sweets and Lollypops. Lollypops are the worst, they are pure carbon hydrates on a stick.
If you wonder why I discuss lolly-pops in an war epic movie comment, an explanation shall be given (hint: It has nothing to do with the title of my comment).
Sparta is probably one of the most fascinating societies to roam the planet. The Spartans had no rules, just a stern ruling system that took every seven year old male from his family and put him through a lifetime of torture-like practice so he can become a flawless fighting machine, devoid of any personal purpose but the purpose of engaging in a bloody battle.
King Leonidas is the man reigning on this theater of absurd that is Sparta. Absurdly enough, the king, a highly respected warrior in his own right, has to report every once in a while to the council of the Ephors who were according to Wikipedia, elected officials that were in charge of the king abiding the law. According to the film, they were also highly unattractive ogres that mediated between the Oracle and Leonidas.
Leonidas wanted to wage war against the Persian army. The biggest and most frightening army the ancient world ever witnessed. The Ephors, after a lengthy consolation with the oracle, decide the king should make major concessions to the Persian king without initiating a war he can't win. Leonidas does the unthinkable and contrary to the Oracle's decision, recruits 300 of his best warriors to face the menace that puts their entire country at danger.
The 300 Spartans are out numbered but they have two advantages:1) They can maneuvers the battle to a narrow road where the Persian advantage will be a marginal one. 2) They have the best warriors the world has ever known and certainly with the most muscular abdomen.
I don't know that much about Spartan culture but according to the film, the Spartan warriors had no shirts, just a cape tilted backwards, leaving their fat-free and well shaped abdomens to be highly visible during the war scenes.
The Atkins diet wasn't in high demand in that particular group.
At the absence of Leonidas, the queen had her fair share of verbal battles with the subversive Theron, the hate monger who tries to belittle Leonidas' bravery and the queens credibility to maintain control on the house of commons. That notion is a source to a feud (in full clothing, by the way) between Theron and the queen.
In case you are wondering whether this film is the "Lord of the ring" with an actual historical background or a version of "Gladiator" in the Greek empire setting, rest assured it's neither. This movie is a well paced, well written and superbly acted action movie that is ensconced in violence and a very twisted perception of heroism.
One of the myths of Sparta, omitted from the film is the ritual where one year old babies who were deemed unhealthy, unwell or disabled, were tossed of a hill to their early demise. According to the film, there was no greater honor for the common Spartan than to die at battle. The Spartan history was determined by the fear of Sparans of becoming slaves to one of their neighboring countries. This fear dominated the country to such an extent that the Spartan rule devised a mechanism that made every Spartan citizen a slave of his own country. Spartan became a synonym for rigidness and frugality. It should have been a synonym for irony.
The movie's historical take is opposite to mine but historical aspects are not the core of the film, they are used as some sort of rational for the gory, bloody and violent fighting scenes that the film consists of. Jack Snyder who wrote and directed the film, assembled a main course of cinematic violence with a historic background and witty script as side dishes.
Which brings me back to the beginning of my review. As a person on an Atkins diet, Lollypops, containing 97% carbon hydrates which makes them off-limits even if they have a nutritional value (which they don't). If a person detests the excessive violence in movies, there is no chance he will find the film compelling the same way I will not be able to watch Polanski's "Bitter moon" despite it's qualities because of its highly frequent and needlessly graphic sex scenes.
For those of you who can endure violent films, bare in mind that this film is fun to watch but don't be fooled to think it's a masterpiece. It has the The script, acting and editing to make it an engrossing film but it's the violence and the blind admiration to one of the most warped-minded societies in history that prevents it from being the extraordinary tale it might seem to be.
For those of you who wonder why I don't mind excessive violence but can't stand excessive sex scenes, I'm afraid I can't answer that. I've got enough concerns to deal with, what with the Atkins and all.
7.5 in my FilmOmeter.