Magnificent Movie Making

Rating: 10/10 (27 August 2007)

I put off watching this film, despite my own anxiousness, for quite some time. From the first time I saw a trailer I wanted to see this film. However I waited and wanted...and when the time came to watch it, I was beyond thoroughly satisfied and amazed.
Let me first say that this film is based on a Graphic Novel by Frank Miller about the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. While this event in history did actually take place, the Graphic Novel & the Movie both are "fictional" depictions of the event, and are done in the style of a "story" rather than a documentary. Anyone interested in this film for historical accuracy should decide why they want to watch the film prior to doing so, even while there is some historical accuracy to the film, it's meant for entertainment.
As far as "movies" go, this film is a perfect balance of artistic excellence, intense action, solid acting, and to-the-point storytelling. It's paced very well, and does not over-elaborate on needless content...which is the downfall of many movies like this. The blend of CG & live action mends perfectly...to the point where you don't "feel" like you're watching CG-styled scenes. I don't think I've ever seen a movie that looked "this" good that not only absolutely draws you into to the movie, but to every detail. It makes you want to pause the film a lot as almost every scene is an artistic masterpiece.
As far as directing & acting goes, everything was solid and where it should have been. Casting was solid, and all actors/actresses played their parts very well. The dialogue, while some say it was "lacking", was to the point, and the cloudy "haze" of attempts to make accurate recreations of language & dialog from that time period were left behind...which is extremely refreshing and only further made the movie an enjoyable experience.
Fans of films like Braveheart should definitely not miss this film. However, the film has much to be appreciated by all tastes in film.