Visual Masterpiece - Adrenaline charged - Inspiring.

Rating: 10/10 (8 April 2007)

First off, I loved the movie - I thought it was a breath of fresh air - a visual adrenaline packed masterpiece. I have always enjoyed ancient history and the Battle of Thermopylae is one of military histories great stories. Please feel free to read about it before you actually go off on political tirades. I admire ancient Greece - people began to be judged or chosen for power due to their capabilities and actions and not their divinity or birthright, a step in the right direction for man.
This movie, keeping with many ancient forms of storytelling tells this story with operatic fantasy (yes, we know no sons of Perseus (Persians), have blades for arms! Btw comparing the Persians of that day to current day Iranians is misleading, that empire is gone and Islamic culture did not come into being till post 600AD), with fantasy and glory woven in - the result is larger and BETTER than real life could ever be. It is a heroic tale, one of sacrifice, Gerard Butler for all the operatic staging, captures the essence, the nobility, the inspiration of what a great man is perfectly.
However since not everyone is ready to put aside cinematic prejudices, to forgive Hollywood for making movies that the masses might enjoy in general - the analog of someone playing cricket scoffing at the rugby team nearby and thumbing their noses - I guess I will try to make a guess as to who should or should not see the movie.
Definitely SEE IT: Love comic books, sci-fi, fantasy, operatic or mythic tales. If visuals, style and cinematography can count quite a bit in your book - see this for sure - I don't say wow lightly and this movie was WOW WOW WOW in that book! If a strong steadfast character, with 6-pack abs running around in a codpiece and actually pulling it off is a selling point to you - by all means see it you won't be disappointed.
SEE IT: If you want to see a movie with some adrenaline and that celebrates the unabashedly masculine in spirit. If you like sports, war movies, strong steadfast men (of both orientations) doing noble things then you will probably really enjoy it. See it if you are inspired by the real history of Thermopylae and DON'T MIND the embellishments. (Btw. the capital Lambda on the shields is a symbol of brotherhood in the face of adversity and has been adopted by many movements and fraternities, often in both uppercase or lowercase.)
Don't SEE IT: If your only definition of movie is one where old ladies express regrets or which are about how horrible this world is. Don't see it if you are so politically sensitive that any suggestion that people might have to step up sometimes is likened to Bush's misguided Iraq war (Contrast a general war on terrorism versus an opportunistic war. For example take WWII - and ask is the call to stand up to atrocity or tyranny is so bad?
Finally let me give you a quote attributed to the real Leonidas so that you may judge if Gerard Butler might have captured the essence of the man: When leaving Sparta for Theromopylae it is written in "phrases of Spartan men and women" that Queen Gorgo asked Leonidas "what should I do?" to which he replied "Marry a good man, and have good children."
Though this was not used in the movie, I think Butler nailed this essence. (Many of the main phrases the movie uses are straight out of Herodotus' accounts btw so please do take the time to glance at them before dismissing them as corny Hollywoodisms. Even Wikipidea will suffice. :))