A brilliant film that will not insult Frank Miller's original work.

Rating: 10/10 (15 March 2007)

"300" is a marvelous, visually stunning film that needs to be viewed as soon as possible. The intensity will get your blood pumping. The visuals will keep you in awe. The soundtrack is just as epic as it should be. Everything about this film should keep you on the edge of your seat wanting to cheer on the Spartans for victory. Those familiar with Frank Miller's graphic novel should breathe a huge sigh of relief because it is not at all an insult to the original story.
"300" is based on the graphic novel written by Frank Miller. In 480 BC, the Xerxes, the Persian King, sends an army to conquer Greece. The Greek city of Sparta decides to take action by sending 300 of their soldiers to meet thousands of Persians at Thermopylae. For any normal person this would be considered a mismatch and an instant suicide mission, but not to Leonidas and his Spartan men. Can few stand against many? Find out in this epic showdown.
The intensity of "300" will get any persons blood and heart pumping. The action scenes will have you wanting to cheer aloud for the Spartan army. There are so much limbs and heads chopped up, with lots of blood squirted out similar to his "re-imaging" of "Dawn of the Dead," that you cannot help but feel powered and manly. To get an idea of how intense this film is, you must first picture the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy and the film, "Gladiator," having a child. "300" is that child injected with steroids. By the end of the film, you will immediately want to see it again.
Another thing that will keep your heart pumping is the visuals. Words cannot describe how awesome they are. Because of them shooting the film in 90% blue screen and 10% green screen, Zack Snyder really gave the film a real unique look to it. Instead of making it look like another "Lord of the Rings" epic or something similar to the typical blockbuster of today, Zack Snyder made the film look as close to the graphic novel as he could. At times, it was hard to tell if the movie was an actual movie or just a moving painting. It would be impossible to make it look closer to Frank Miller's graphic novel then how Snyder showed it.
As visually stunning as this movie was, you cannot have a movie of this kind be as cool without the great soundtrack. As this reviewer has mentioned in his "Eragon" review, a good epic fantasy movie has to have an equally great film score in order to grip you into the story as if it was a supporting character. Tyler Bates, who also collaborated with Zack in the "re-imagining" of "Dawn of the Dead," created an amazing musical score that is complete with a 250 or more person chorus. In addition, occasionally during the battle sequences you would hear a heavy metal sounding guitar. Could you imagine the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy with metal played in the middle of the battle scenes?
Besides the music, the visuals, and overall intensity of the film, the acting was also phenomenal. Gerard Butler should be moving up fairly soon to an A-list actor after this film because his performance as King Leonidas was exceptional. Many of the women in the audience were cheering because Lena Headey's Queen Gorgo gave a performance that screamed "girl power." Rodrigo Santoro gave an amazing performance as the villain, Xerxes. Dominic West gave a performance as the Spartan traitor, Theron. Both West and Santoro were the antagonists that you will love to hate. David Wenham was great as not only a narrator but also a member of the Spartan army, Dilios. Everyone gave exceptional performances.
For those of you who are fans of the graphic novel, as this reviewer is, you should not be disappointed. By re-reading the graphic novel, this reviewer can safely say that Zack Snyder did nothing to insult Frank Miller's original vision. Not only does the film look exactly like book, but there are many instances where the dialog is the same too. There are some minor points left out but it was not at all a distraction. Snyder also added some things to the original story, including a whole subplot that gave a crucial character more screen time, which should not distract the viewer familiar with Frank Miller's original story. If you are one of those that believes that Snyder insulted Frank Miller's creation, you should remember that Frank Miller was the producer and consultant and, because of that, it was Miller who gave Snyder permission to use what was showing on the screen.
Overall, if you love epics or action flicks, you will love this film. Men will crave this film because it is a very testosterone filled film. Women will enjoy all of the actors being so buff and half-naked. Frank Miller fans will also love this. The only ones who should not view this film are those under the age of 14 or 15 because not only are there many graphics fights, which made the battles in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy seem harmless, but also lots of sexual content and nudity.