Historical Epic as Auto Commercial

Rating: Null/10 (26 March 2007)

As pure an example of de-evolution as you're likely to see on screen this year, 300 takes the grand tradition of Hollywood historical epics and reduces it to the level of a TV commercial.
The filmmakers have reduced one of the seminal tales of western civilization to a bunch of stale catchphrases and lovingly photographed, slow-motion violence. Philosophically, this is a good movie for those who found the "Star Wars" movies to be too subtle. Virtually everyone who opposes our noble heroes is portrayed as, quite literally, an inhuman monster, while visually, the only tricks the director and editor seem to have brought to the table are (a) color everything bronze and (b) the old slow-fast-slow routine, a digital effect that was thoroughly played at least five years ago.
Add in some endless fields of softly swaying wheat, and all that was missing was for the latest Dodge SUV to come sweeping majestically around the mountains.