About what I thought a film version of a graphic novel SHOULD be,particularly one set in ancient Greece.

Rating: 9/10 (31 March 2007)

My knowledge of Greek history is a little fuzzier now than in the past,but if I recall right,the Spartans were quite the intense,warlike people,with an immense sense of personal pride,loyalty and honor to their fellow Greeks and themselves.
So when an emissary for the Persian King and conqueror Xerxes arrives at the palace of Spartan KIng Leonidas(Gerard Butler,quickly making people forget he was the Pahntom of the Opera),making a grand and patronizing offer of peacefully conquering the Spartan(And in effect all of Greece)in exchange for allegiance and servitude,the Spartan KIng does not take this very kindly. He not-so-subtly offers his reply,and before long,he is rounding up soldiers and planning to take on the oncoming onslaught of Persian soldiers(numbering anywhere from the tens of thousands to,as one account would say,millions)that would follow. He meets resistance from many in the Greek council,particularly from the foreign emissary Theron(Dominic West)and gets no support from the arbiters of the country,a vile collection of inbreds named the Ephors,who consult through Oracles--basically young,attractive women who are drugged into mystic spells and incantations. His most powerful support lies in his strong,attractive wife Gorgo(Lena Headey) and,of course,the three-hundred soldiers he assembles for what is understood to be more of a suicide mission to save the country.
Director ZAck Snyder,incorporating plenty of the gory energy that was fraught in his 2004 offering Dawn of the Dead,puts this Frank Miller graphic novel to screen in a mostly digitalized,eye-busting creation. MUch of this film takes place about the way that one would expect an ancient Greek story would:told in almost lyrical narrative,foreboding and larger-than-life. To me,this is something of a throwback movie,a film that hearkens back to the days when adventure and narrative was more important and nuance and acting was an afterthought at best. While this is hardly(outside of the technology employed here,much like the equally visually astounding Sin City,also a MIller graphic novel)revolutionary film-making,this is a very good example of what sit-in-the-theater,popcorn-munching entertainment is all about.