Excellent

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2008)

It upsets me that people take cinema so seriously. I read some of the comments, and many people had an issue with the film's dedication to historical truth. Anyone could tell you this story is based on a graphic novel, which originally put a dramatic spin on an ancient battle. Ever play telephone, people? The he said-she said thing tends to kill fact as embellishment takes over, and this sort of cinematic filtering is no exception. That being said, what on earth is the big deal? You should know you're not going to get a history lesson out of this sort of film, so why bother griping about it? If you want a history lesson, yank out a text book, not a comic book, or watch the History Channel. They give you (guess what?) history. If you want a good movie experience with some historical ideas thrown about, check this baby out.
The deal with this film is that it's like Sin City: same creator, similar editing, great story, awesome color schemes and great composition. It's like watching a moving comic book.
Understand going into this film that it is nothing if not epic. Everything is DRAMA. It should be epic though. The back story is insane. 300 men take on a gigantic army in defense of their homeland. 300. That's probably less than the amount of people you could fit into your local mall, less than the amount of kids in my graduating high school class. The odds were epic; the film is epic. And oh boy, does it deliver.
You want romance? Check. Action? Check. Absolute gore? CHECK CHECK CHECK. This movie is everything it should be, and the fact that it was low budget gives it a great feel in my opinion: relatively B-List actors proving why they should be upgraded to nothing less than headliners. And, I'm sorry, when I watch gore in some sort of epic battle, why would I NOT want to listen to intense, hard rock and see everything go into slow-motion so I can catch every bloody (literally) detail? I was absolutely giddy with excitement the first time I saw this movie. It made my day.
And while some scenes may be borderline cheesy, again, epic. It calls for it. The whole point is that for this movie, you know how the story ends, because despite what picky people say, it is loosely based on history. They all died. This movie doesn't lie about it. So why do we know about this ridiculous battle? This movie sort of gives you a reason. Because it was a kind of fairy-tale, you-can't-make-this-up story about mighty, brave men who fought with brawn as well as brain.
As for plot, DUH. Are you brain dead? The movie recounts a battle. What caused it to happen, what happened during the crazy battle, who was involved, what came of it? That's why it's called 300, and not Sparta or something like that. It focuses on the before, during, and after of an insane multiple-day battle and everything surrounding it. If that's not enough plot for you, then you shouldn't watch this movie. Go develop your open mind, then come back and try again.
Anyway, long review short, this movie is as awesome as it is intense. I loved it. So long as you go in with an open mind and an appetite for gore, you'll love it too.