Most fun you'll have this year

Rating: 8/10 (14 March 2007)

As a young boy, Frank Miller watched the 1962 film "The 300 Spartans" and was inspired in the story about 300 Spartans fighting against an army of Persians in The Battle of Thermopylae. As history tells us, 300 Greek soldiers lead by Spartan King Leonidas took on an army 20 times their number and held off the encroaching army long enough so that Greece was able to amass an army that fought off the encroaching Persians in 480 B.C.
Miller then took the historical event and gruesome outcome as his muse to pen 300 in 1998 with collaborator and wife Lynn Varley. It was a graphic novel resembling Sin City that pulled no punches and had the pages soaked with blood and carnage.
Years later, writer/director Zack Snyder who was coming off the wildly fun and successful Dawn of the Dead (2004) adapted a screenplay based on Miller's mini-series of novels on the battle and churned it into adrenaline pumping glory with the film simply titled 300.
The story for the film is simple in structure. 300 soldiers stand ground in a mountain pass against hordes of Persians. The result was blood, decapitations, blood, dismemberments, blood, gore and just a little more blood thrown in for good measure.
Sure, there is some backstory that never claims to be historically accurate. We are introduced in the beginning to the Spartan culture where their young children are taken from their families and taught to fight and become tolerant to pain and to the land (all of which are true). It is not long before we are introduced to King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) whose love for their country comes a close second to the love they have for each other.
But when a Persian messenger brings word of an army of over 7,000 which will destroy the Greek towns and culture unless they are given land and water, Leonidas stands firm and declares war on the trespassing army. Well, sort of. First, Leonidas tries to get approval from the five Ephors who were Spartas high officials. They refuse Leonidas' suggestion of war (even though there is no history to support their nay vote), but Leonidas still amasses 300 of his personal guards to stand firm in the mountains to protect the women and children that remained behind.
So while away at war, Queen Gorgo tries to convince the council to send the entire Greek army to her husbands side in aide of his efforts. Her attempts would prove futile, but what the hell do we care? As bellowed by Leonidas, "We're in for one wild night.". 300 does not disappoint.
If you've seen the trailers or the television spots, you know that violence is the call to order in 300 and Zach Snyder (God Bless Him!) fought off studio pressure to make the film PG-13 and went straight for the heart of the R-rating. We watch as the Spartans repel hundreds and hundreds of Persians led by baddie Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) who is a cross between something on Stargate and Boy George. Their opposing armies leave enough CG blood splatter on the screen to titillate the warrior in all of us.
300 is all about the violence, and Zach Snyder does a fantastic job of mixing just the right amount of blood, sweat and tears (all to a rocking score) with scantly clad buffed hunks to keep both genders of the date smiling with delight. There is enough spear chucking, arrow shooting and bone crunching for two or three movies. And when Leonidas stands on the battlefield of fallen Persians and eats an apple while making a speech about being civilized, it is a scene that will resonate long after the drive back home.
There is so many good things about 300 that I don't know where to start. The way it was filmed in fast and slow motion video game style, the color scheme which is just dull enough to give a feel of rust, the acting lead by Butler who does a fantastic job of pulling off a role where he needs to be sensitive, intelligent, valiant, suicidal and at times, even humorous.
The only thing that bothered me was the inordinate amount of Braveheart type rousing speeches that were shouted in our face before each new onslaught. There is only so much "Give them nothing! But take from them everything!" and "Spartans! Enjoy your breakfast, for tonight we dine in Hell!" before a "We Spartans have descended from Hercules himself. Taught never to retreat, never to surrender. Taught that death in the battlefield is the greatest glory he could achieve in his life. Spartans: the finest soldiers the world has ever known" before even the most engrossed of viewers begin to roll their eyes.
But aside from this small drawback, 300 proved to be what I hoped it would when I started to see clips and trailers. It is a rocking ride and so far, the most fun you are going to have at the movies this year.
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