I make this review...FOR SPARTA!!!

Rating: 6/10 (29 March 2007)

WOW!! Is this movie a testosterone junkies fix or what?!!? I gotta say that I came striding out of this movie firm of jaw and broad of chest looking for a little guy to beat up on....for SPARTA!!! Not finding one of suitable proportions I marched off home (stiff and upright of course) and roared at my wife to get my supper ready....for SPARTA!!! Once I had brushed all of the bolognese sauce out of my hair, I sat down to reflect on the movie I had just seen.
I was attracted by three things. Firstly, the 60's movie "The 300 Spartans" is on my top 10 favourite movie list and secondly the trailer for 300 looked great, promising to give a Lord of the Rings feel to essentially the same historical storyline. Added to that the same team provided me with my favourite movie of recent years, Sin City. So how could I not enjoy this movie!?! On the plus side. 300 is a non-stop feast for the senses, even though it is possible to over-indulge. The CGI is amazing, the comic-book feel is a delight, the battle scenes magnificently choreographed (I use this word because the battles were unusually dance-like) and the music score is supremely empowering without being imposing. The fantasy element a la LotR did not disappoint either.
All in all a very good nights entertainment.....however....very reluctantly (because I so much wanted this movie to be flawless) I feel compelled to mention a few gripes......
Even though there are one or two significant scenes with women, this is so overpoweringly a mans movie that they fail to redress the balance. Now this does not mean it cannot be enjoyed by women, but rather that its main appeal (intentionally or otherwise)is to a largely bygone male stereotype. Hence my reversion to Neanderthal Man as I left the theatre.
Next, and I gotta say it, the whole "FOR SPARTA!!!" thing was just a little OTT. By far the most dominant of the 300 Spartans was of course King Leonidas and his men followed him blindly, but wasn't he a little barking mad? That whole "tonight we dine in hell" thing certainly would have had me pondering whether he was one sandwich short of a picnic.
In essence, King Leonidas' going totally tonto in isolation would not have been noticed, but when the, shall we say "idiosyncrasies", of some of the other Spartans are added, then some parts drifted dangerously toward a Monty Python sketch. Sorry.
And finally in my little gripette. The most interesting character in this movie, by a country mile, is Xerxes, but far too little development time was given over to him. If I were Frank Miller, I'd already be outlining a sequel..."300, the rise and fall of the return of Xerxes rides again". Guaranteed money-spinner.
Anyway, taken as a complete package, well worth the entrance fee and a welcome injection of testosterone.....I wonder if the wife has calmed down.....time for a little horizontal refreshment....FOR SPARTA!!!!!