Utterly disappointing

Rating: 3/10 (25 March 2007)

I have eagerly waited quite a while to see this movie... and felt like leaving the theater after about 45 minutes. Corny dialog, thin story, and just too many clichés messed up what could have been a great film. What angered me most was that I loved the trailer. I was looking for something new on the screen, a new way of presenting an war-epic. Instead I received what could well go though as a cheap "Join-the army, defend your country"-commercial. "The man next to you", "Honor, duty, liberty","Free men defend..." all that macho-blah-blah has been overused too many times in Hollywood-style war-lover flicks such as this. Worst of all, some scenes even made me laugh although they were not intended to. This is a deeply flawed movie. It never decides if it wants to be a fantasy story or a real drama about soldiers. It totally ignores the inner feelings of people in battle (there is one scene where you catch a glimpse of the thoughts of a Spartan soldier... and it is played soooo bad). The makers of this movie never made up their mind: Is this an animated comic book or a history film? Is it an war-epic movie or a fantasy-story? Shall the movie be ironic or serious? I bow to the marketing section of 300 - you guys rule!! I fell for the preview praises and the awesome trailer (where was the great music by the way?)... and now you have my money. My advice to all who haven't seen this film yet: If you love soldier dramas: Watch Black Hawk Down, you get a lot of the dialog 300 recycled and will be able to enjoy it much more. If you like fantasy: Have a Lord of the Rings-Weekend. If you love historical action: Watch Gladiator. And if you are just fond of people who are dying for their beliefs: Give Braveheart a try. 300 tried to be a little like of each of them and became an ugly homunculus. My bottom line: Don't believe the hype.