Gory, exciting but lacks tragic edge

Rating: 7/10 (26 March 2007)

"300" is based on Frank Miller's comic book about the Spartans - 300 soldiers who made a brave stand against a marauding Persian army. I am familiar with neither the comic book nor the legend on which it's based, but I was watching an action movie and I judged it on that basis alone.
On an action level, the film is a great success. I found the battle scenes gory and exciting as the Spartans use technique, teamwork and ingenuity (as well as sheer brute force) to tackle their adversaries. There was also a healthy dollop of wit in this scenes as well. I never tired of hearing Gerard Butler as the Spartan leader barking orders at his troops or offering up clever one-liners to friends and foes alike. The presence of trolls, man-wolves and deformed soldiers add fantasy overtones to the proceedings.
It is in the character stakes I found the movie wanting, but not by too much. Due to a lack of depth in the characterisation, I found it difficult to really care for the soldiers as people. The relationship between Butler and his lieutenant, played by David Wenham, was particularly underdeveloped. More depth would have accentuated the Spartans' bravery, and made their inevitable fate more tragic and moving.
However, the movie has a strong female character in Lena Headley's Queen Gorgo. While her husband is off to fight, she must stay behind and bargain with the Senate to give her man more backing. She generated a round of applause at my screening when she rammed a sword into the belly of the sleazy Senator who uses her. But again, there was a lack of emotional depth to the relationship between her and her husband. I never got the feeling they truly cared for each other, and in that the movie was robbed of further tragic dimension.
Nevertheless, for stylish, harmless escapism, you can't really go wrong with "300" and in that the movie is well recommended.