About that time

Rating: 8/10 (10 April 2007)

After movies like Troy and Alexander I'm glad the cool Greeks are back! ;o) Seriously though: I really liked this movie, although I'm not in any way supporting the Spartan way of life (which is one of the few things, that is accurately depicted in the movie).
Having said that, it would be a mistake to say that this an accurate depiction of what happened back then (history-wise). It is based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller (and yes his novel is based on the historical events, but he took the liberty of changing a few things). And although I haven't read that novel yet, I heard the movie is very accurate to the graphic novel.
Don't mistake this movie as a political propaganda too. Yes there are certain lines that can be interpreted that way (pro-Bush and pro-War), but they were either written/invented by Frank Miller a few years ago or they have been said many centuries ago (like the, then "we will fight in the shade" saying). So why connect them to the recent developments in the middle east? People say it's the timing (like why did the film come out at a time like this? You could argue that scenes like that couldn't be made a few years ago).
So yes you can read anything in the movie if you want to. But is that how you should absorb the movie? I don't think so! I think either you are going in (especially after having watched the trailer and/or teaser) wanting to have fun (although some scenes are not for the faint of hearted, decapitations and so forth) and enjoy a popcorn movie or you just want to hate ... It's up to you to decide ...