A visual art movie with the bonus of action/adventure

Rating: 7/10 (10 March 2007)

If the idea of Spartans battling an overwhelming Persian army in 480 BC sounds interesting to you - then I think you'll enjoy this movie. I enjoyed the movie immensely and as an action/adventure film it met the requirement of increasing my adrenalin level.
I was hoping for something that was good as or better than the 1964 film "Zulu". I was disappointed in that respect. There is something very primal about holding off an overwhelming enemy while ensconced in one's "fortress". I think the 1971 film "Straw Dogs" struck that primitive part of the psyche. A more recent film (of a lower caliber) that played on this aspect of the human psyche was "Starship Troopers" - where thousands of giant grasshopper-like aliens attacked a military base. But, this is me saying that "300" wasn't the film I was hoping for  which of course is essentially irrelevant.
It seems evident to me that director Zach Snyder was not reaching for the "Zulu" genre. This was a movie designed to create a visual artistic atmosphere based on Frank Miller's graphic novel. In that respect, in my opinion  Zach Snyder was extremely successful. The acting was very good and enhanced the overall impact of the visual art.
To summarize my opinion: Story/plot: good, Acting: very good, Action/excitement: good, Cinematography: excellent
I'll follow my entertainment oriented comments with a little social commentary. I was somewhat interested in what types of non-artistic related reactions the "300" would evoke. I guess I wasn't entirely surprised to see an extremely harsh review of the film by the New York City weekly tabloid "The Village Voice":
"On first glance, the terms couldn't be clearer: macho white guys vs. effeminate Orientals. Yet aside from the fact that Spartans come across as pinched, pinheaded gym bunnies, it's their flesh the movie worships. Not since Beau Travail has a phalanx of meatheads received such insistent ogling. As for the threat to peace, freedom, and democracy, that filthy Persian orgy looks way more fun than sitting around watching Spartans mope while their angry children slap each other around. At once homophobic and homoerotic, 300 is finally, and hilariously, just hysterical."
In this film, the Spartans (and their culture) are good and the Persians are the bad. You may want to avoid this movie if you feel that plot premise is not acceptable to you.