A terrible mess

Rating: 1/10 (11 March 2007)

Seeing the enthusiastic comments here, I was almost wondering whether they were meant for the same film I saw. Unfortunately, there is no doubt it is the same.
Never mind the fact I am writing from Greece, and that I might be in any way biased: I didn't go to the cinema expecting to see a historically accurate film, and I never let this fact bother me in the very least. I knew it was based on a comic, and I thought I'd see a decent enough epic film. I am not hard to please when it comes to films, but honestly -- I don't think I've seen such bad directing before. Terrible overuse of slow-motion sequences, some of the most awkward posing and set-up regarding the actors, an absolutely pretentious use of colour and lightning, incredibly bad costume choices (uniform leather thongs -- give me a break) resulting in multiple layers of kitsch. There was undoubtedly some eye-candy: but it was stacked so sloppily together it ended up being unpleasant.
Add to this mess some of the cheesiest lines and concepts, and there you have it -- I would call it a complete waste of time, but in some sense it is so bad it is almost worth seeing. Flying severed limbs in the battle scenes may even bring in a good laugh -- just as most of the dialogue does.