Laconically bold

Rating: 8/10 (11 July 2008)

300 is at once mesmerising and uncompromising. It is a stylistic and creative vision which will knowingly be hated by some, but is consistent throughout. The most controversial aspect of the film is its undeniable post-911 political overtones, explicit right up to the final declaration of the final battle between 'mysticism and tyranny', reason and freedom.
Those decrying it for its 'cheesy' dialog and 'lack of plot' absurdly miss the point. Many of the lines of dialog are lifted directly from Herodotus and Plutarch - blame ancient literature not Hollywood.
300 is hewn in the epic tradition, not so much the 1950s Charlton Heston kind, but in the original Greek poetic tradition, where the actions are heroic, the odds multiplied, the lessons stark and the characters dazzling. 300 faithfully follows the tradition on all of these counts. In addition, the cultural observations on Spartan life are in many cases supported by contemporary accounts, mostly external as Sparta had a strict non-literary tradition.
In historical reality, it was clear the Leonidas last stand was as much a tool of Greek national propaganda, in order to rouse the fragmented states to defy Xerxes' divide and conquer strategy.
It's ironic, perhaps intentional that a Scots actor, Gerard Butler is chosen to play the heroic role very similar to that of William Wallace in Braveheart, though Leonidas is much less the reluctant hero.
There has been considerable complaint about the lack of accuracy in the depiction of battle - a criticism also laid at Braveheart, which took massive license in that department. True, the stylised slo-mo orgy of violent action bears little relation to historical Spartan battle tactics, but uses no less hyperbole than the historian Herodotus himself (the 'Father of Lies') would have approved, had he the budget. History back then was a form of political art, not the preserve of accountants.
Viewing 300 through the prism of our current age does make it seem risible and clichéd, but remove that layer of judgement and understand the integrity behind it and its a remarkable artefact.