A Pppular but not very good movie

Rating: 6/10 (17 March 2007)

"300" is a popular movie but not a very good one. There is little plot and a lot of violence. It tells the story, not well, of 300 Spartans who battled hordes of Persians seeking to destroy them and to te Greece. It is not so much the violence I object to, I really like "Braveheart" and the "LOTR" movies, but the fact that there is lo little drama in recounting the Spartans story.
Spartans, the movie informs its audience, were trained to be warriors from an early age. They are constantly drilled and tested so by the time they reach maturity they are able to encounter any foe with a good chance of being victorious in the encounter. Leonidas (Gerard Butler) is the king of Sparta and like other Spartans was trained to be a soldier and to never give in to his enemies demands. This training is put to the test when King Xerses of Persia comes to Greece intending to conquer the nation-states of that region. Xerses' forces vastly outnumber the Spartans and is certain, because of his superior numbers, to defeat the Spartans in battle, no matter how valiantly the Spartans fight. But the king of Persia turns out to admire Sparta's warrior mentality and all he demands of Leonidas is that he kneel before him, acknowledge him as his God and let Persia control Greece. But, this Leonidas will not do and he recruits the 300 best Spartan warriors to got to war against Persia. After this development, the movie is filled with battle scenes and mayhem as the 300 heroically oppose the vast Persian army.
So, with very little plot development behind it, the movie moves on to several very graphic battle sequences as the audience sees Spartans stab, impale, sever and behead their opponents. For a while it seems the Spartans are going to make the cost of victory so high that the Persians might give in. But, in a sub-plot a hunchback, whom Leonidas would not let fight with the 300, turns traitor and the Spartans are outflanked, leading to their doom. This sub-plot, like the one involving the Spartan queen and a council member only slightly ups the dramatic ante as both are very predictable in their outcomes.
Some people might be squeamish about the graphic violence of this depiction of a graphic novel by Frank Miller. But the battle sequences are the best thing about this movie. The action is almost all done with CGI as actors fight scenes that were filmed in front of "green screen" with backgrounds later added digitally by computer whizzes. It all seems very realistic and it is hard to tell what action is computer enhanced. But good CGI effects lacking a compelling story is a hollow victory for the movie's makers. I get the point that Spartans were warriors, more than willing to die to defend their nation. But this is a thin reed to base a 1 3/4 hour movie. I like the action of this film but not the story so I grade it 6 points out of 10.