Sorry, but I like a little subtlety with my fascism

Rating: 3/10 (11 March 2007)

First off, let me say that trying to apply this movie to modern political reality is a bit of a stretch. Is Leonidas supposed to be Bush? Or is it Xerxes? Is Theron a liberal who hates the troops? I think that it is difficult to make those analogies, or even to see the movie as an allegory for the "Global War on Terror." What is not hard to see is the fascistic philosophy that underpins the movie. Spartans are judged worthy solely on their ability to serve as soldiers. Physical beauty, martial quality, and moral worth are all equated. The soldier-first mentality of the Spartans is what distinguishes them, and supposedly makes them better, than their allies. There are even hints of a death-cult amongst the soldiers. All of this without a single suggestion of irony by the filmmaker.
The movie is only tangentially related to the current political situation. It goes much deeper than that, which should be far more disturbing.
The movie is visually stunning, but empty for all that. Seeing the men cheering in slow motion as rain pours down is a fine image, but contributes little to nothing to the film. Neither did the sex scene, or half of the battle scenes. Even one of the salient dialogue scenes of the movie is ruined by the fact that the Spartans don't fight in the way that Leonidas claims. The sum effect of this is comedy. The movie takes itself so seriously that it never seems to realize just how empty many of these scenes are.
All in all, an entertaining waste of 2 hours. Especially if you enjoy overly-serious seeming movies. Or if you have fascist sympathies.