Straight-forward, stylized action that truly delivers

Rating: 9/10 (23 June 2013)

There aren't many action movie like '300'. In here, we follow the legendary battle between 300 spartan warriors, lead by King Leonidas, against the invading forces of thousands from the Persian Empire lead by Xerxes.
By now, this almost mythological story has been more than debunked (there were thousands of spartans in that battle, not just the three hundred) but, unlike what many people seem to believe, the film is actually based on a comic book and not in the actual historical facts (the comic itself was only loosely based on reality). This is mostly a fantasy-action, and trying to dismiss it for its historical inaccuracy is just stupid.
The movie itself is one of the strongest actioners I've seen. From what I've seen from the director, Zack Snyder ('Dawn of the Dead' remake and 'Watchmen'), I'm quite happy that he directed this; he is not the kind to shy away from the intense violence such a battle would create. The fantastic visuals of the film (a trademark of Snyder; even his dreadful 'Sucker Punch' had good visuals despite all its flaws) and the stylized way the narrative and battle choreography are done are brilliant; it brings a quasi-psychopathic satisfaction seeing the 300 fight and kill their enemies.
Another high point is that the movie has something akin to a brain, despite all the violence. The dialogues between Leonidas and the Persians (the messenger at the beginning, and Xerxes later on) are very interesting and intelligently done, serving to further convey how prideful/arrogant both groups are. The political side story involving Leonidas' wife's discussions with the city/state council, trying to get the rest of Sparta to join the fight against the Persians, is also unexpectedly good.
For the most part, the casting was very well done. The spartans truly look their part, a race of strong and prideful warriors; Gerard Butler, in special, has a very strong presence that truly makes him suitable to play the part as their leader. Lena Headey, who plays his wife, is beautiful to look at and the way she plays her character she not only looks worthy of a queen, but of the queen of a warrior nation.
Maybe the only thing I didn't like was the casting of Rodrigo Santoro. As a fellow Brazilian, I knew him mostly from his work on soap operas: always being the pretty boy who is just there to make women swoon in a clichéd romance subplot. The fact he had to be digitally modified in order to make himself appear threatening (not just his height, but even his voice too) shows how much he was ideal for this role. Why not cast someone who was already menacing?