Tonight, we dine in HELL!

Rating: 10/10 (9 March 2007)

I just returned from a midnight screening and all I can say is wow, the movie industry has managed to create something bold, original, weird and at the same time extremely enjoyable. After Lord of the Rings, we were tired of seeing massive battles that used CGI to create armies containing hundreds of thousands of troops, and after Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Braveheart, etc.... I was a bit tired of the historical period-piece films.
300 has managed to rejuvenate this genre. Snyder (director) was not afraid to mold his movie into the image of the graphic novel it is based on. The skies glow vivid colors, and the clouds seem to almost touch you in the theater. The use of slow-motion, even in non-battle sequences, made certain segments so much more impacted. One thing I will commend them for is not over-using the slow-motion, and keeping the camera controlled (no shaky/Blair Witch Project here, you can clearly see the battle scenes).
The story moves relatively quickly into the main plot line: the 300 Spartans making a stand against the might of the "million man" Persian army (although the trailer claimed a million, in the movie Leonidas only comments that the Persians "claim their army is in the millions"). Once it begins, it grabs you and doesn't let go.
The Spartans are unarmored, wear heroic red cloaks and look like the fiercest SOB's you will ever see. The fighting direction was very effective, and the use of blood splatter made the fight scenes unique (although I could complain none of the blood ever made it to the floor and stained the ground, partly due to it being 100% CGI).
However, past the blood and historical inaccuracies, the only thing that truly bothered me was the freaks/monsters. A mutant who is locked in chains and then "unleashed" on the Spartans, a hunchback who follows around the Spartan army, a Rhino strapped with war "garments" and war elephants resembling those of Lord of the Rings. I understand these are stylistic devices from the graphic novel but they could have toned it down a little bit. I loved the look of the immortals, but the rest of the Persian Army generally looked like crappy Middle-Eastern militia fighters, against the gleaming, flowing red capes of the Spartans.
This movie made we want to grab a spear and head in the Phalanx formation. If you like action, fighting, a bit of nudity (and for those girls, 300 sculpted and muscular Spartans), this movie is for you. Forget guns: This is SPARTA!