Pure entertainment

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2011)

"300" is based on Frank Miller's graphic novel about the battle between the 300 men of Spartan versus a large number of Persians commanded by King Xerxes. The movie follows Miller's concept, both are not History lessons over a period, it's more concerned about how difficult it was the Battle of Thermopylae (occured in 480 BC.)
Zack Snyder's action film is pure action with everything that is required of a action film, has fights, blood, visual effects in which most of the film was made, heroic speeches made by King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), villainesque moments of Rodrigo Santoro and a voice-over that tells us about how powerful and magnificent the Spartans were. And this voice-over is the thing that was unnecessary and it almost drags the movie down for being a better movie than it is.
Throughout the film there's a narration that goes on and off without care, appearing in some moments and disappearing in another's made by David Wenham. My complaint is not against him but it goes against the "300" writers of included such an awful element into the film, something that to me was like saying that the viewers are dumb and they need to be told what's happening at all time. Example: "See how wonderful the Spartans soldiers were. They were so brave" and then you see the soldiers killing everybody" or right in the first line "When the boy was born, like all Spartans, he was inspected." and we see a boy who would become Leonidas. We already have the image so why insisting on using a narrator with a awkward voice (specially if you watch the Portuguese dubbing version which is quite annoying and I watched the original version and it's a little better) that keeps saying "Do you understand what you're seeing?"?.
I can't complain about the action sequences since most of the them were well made, with violent moments captured in slow-motion effects (but I felt bad when one of the soldiers was killed in front of his father, and it's a shocking scene considering that the film wasn't so much violent as I thought it would be); the drama involving King Leonidas wife and the senators back in Spartan was very good presented, balancing the tension of the battles with a conspiracy plan made by Dominic West character.
You might not believe that everybody had washboard abs back in 480 BC., or that King Xerxes was transported in a strange vehicle carried by thousands of slaves but this film is not a historical film and don't tend to be. It amazes me how so many people wanted that "300" were an accurate film, and worst it's so ridiculous that whole controversy about how the Persians were portrayed and that whole political thing. This film is beyond this, it's a good and exciting entertainment. No more, no less. 8/10