It was about time...

Rating: 10/10 (12 March 2007)

It is apparent that Frank Miller's work, finally got the credit it deserves, now in the 2000s, instead of the poor translations to the screen , in the past decades. So after "Sin City", here come "300", to blow your mind away.
Never mind, "Troy", that chick flick, that took the savagest epic poem ever written, to transform it into a Pitt/Bana/Bloom gawk. If you ask my opinion, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", had more in common with "The Odyssey", than "Troy" had with "The Iliad"...
Never mind, "Alexander", that took the story of one of the greatest strategists of all time and his journey, to transform it into a quite perverse parallel to G.W.'s "fight to civilize"...
Here, is a movie, based on a graphic novel, that teaches history lessons, better than anyone else ever did.
Thanks to the pen of Frank Miller, the artistry of Zack Snyder, and the vision of them both, this here is a lesson as to how to treat an epic tale. The work that was done here, is amazing. Production design, flawless. The CGI, near perfection and speaking of which, I don't know if the film was shot on location, it would have the same impact as it did now. As, for the actors? Butler IS Leonidas. He simply IS. He exists. You believe him. Everyone else, played their part in perfection and stood by their character, as best as they could.
The music of the film, is a mixture of heavy guitars, orchestra and vocals and although it reminds of some other scores, (the rejected score of "Troy", work of Basil Poledouris, and perhaps "Gladiator") it stands as great as the 300 Spartans themselves.
Being Greek, this is the only film in recent memory that makes me being proud of my ancestors and our history. It's an ode to freedom and valor. Values that are forgotten in most of the world today although western civilization keeps referring to them constantly. It's also a reminder that when guns were invented, "balls" disappeared...
I watched the teaser trailer, once every day since its release. The anticipation couldn't reach a higher level and as is usual in a situation like this, you are always disappointed. Not THIS time. (If you exclude the Spartans' "HOO-HA", that is...) I'm not sure i can go to the cinema as many times as I'd like, to enjoy this masterpiece.
A big "Hail" to Miller, to Snyder, to Butler. I believe, that if I write anything else, I will only diminish the film's value.
...You know what? Just... go see the film. And if you already have, see it again.
I would also like to comment on other peoples um... comments..
How it stirs your primal instincts, it true, it does that.
How it takes the history and gives it a turn (not always for the best) that is bigger than life, true too. It's a movie. It is supposed to do that.
How the Persians were all deformed, mutated, and so on, and Xerxes himself a bit effeminate, "so they must die", in this "Racist" movie? Not so much. Don't forget they are the BAD GUYS of the film. Do you suppose that if Sauron and his legion of Orcs, were as good-looking as the Elves themselves, LOTR would have the same impact? Countless are the examples in that. STAR WARS, has the deformed Emperor and deformed Darth Vader. In BRAVEHEART, the true villain is Robert the Bruce's father, and he is a leper. The heir to England's throne is gay. In CONAN THE BARBARIAN, Thalsa Doom is a Snake. You want more? It's a movie and bad guys in movies look worse than good guys in movies.
Also a comment for the people who parallel this work to G.W's propaganda tools... That was "Alexander". As for this film, you are forgetting something crucial, that probably is genetically imprinted on US citizens DNA to forget... The Spartans were DEFENDING their land. Not INVADING somebody else's. So any talk made for freedom, is used in the very accurate and pure form. Not as a manipulative tool for US troops, dudes... US troops, don't defend...
And in any case, IT'S ONLY A MOVIE.