An Awesome Cinematic Adventure

Rating: 10/10 (29 March 2007)

This movie is incredible. Very awesome combat, and a whole bunch you can read in the other reviews. But I'll address the criticisms now.
Many criticize the fact that the movie is full of historical inaccuracies and impossibilities, along with the fact that there is "prejudice" against black men, homosexuals, the handicapped, and groups among the Persians.
The movie is a narrative, you must remember, told right before the battle by a Spartan, one of the 300. Many of the things that appear to be creatures are how Spartans portray them. Remember the wolf at the very beginning? It had no physical possibilities beyond what it does in our reality, but a Spartan would likely see it as a much more intimidating being. The same applies to the ogre-like creature, the creature with guillotines for hands, and the traitor. Spartans see things in a different, more mythological fashion. Nothing had powers that were really impossible with amputation and other physical possibilities, but it would not seem so to an Ares-worshiping, Hades-believing culture.
Plus, as a story being told, this could also come from the imagination of the Spartans, listening to the tale and letting their imaginations, fueled with hatred toward the Persians, fill in the blanks.
And then there's the prejudice. What would a Spartan see as wrong? They characterize their fellow Greeks, the Athenians, as "boy-lovers" early in the tale. The Spartans see all but themselves as weak, and all that oppose them, or their beliefs (such as their beliefs on homosexuality), as evil. These are not the beliefs of the movie makers (at least as far as I can tell) and do not truly characterize anything but the ancient Persian empire as evil, and even then only to the Spartans. Do people complain about the characterizations of many Germans in WWII movies? I thought not.
Also, this movie is far less gory than it would be in reality, but that's a good thing in this case. Blood spills in a very artful way, entirely CG-animated and only used in an artful way. In the instances with decapitations, blood does not pour in the way in truly does, or spray in a fountain, or anything truly gory. The blood falls in a few drops and no more. The movie is high in violence, but less blood falls than in an episode of Law and Order.
However, there is a reason this movie is rated R, other than the (at least with my family and friends) controversial V for Vendetta. The 300 is full of sexuality, so don't take your kids unless you're OK with that...signing out.