An amazing movie

Rating: 8/10 (22 August 2007)

As many can tell from the previews, 300, is a stylish epic/action movie whose imagery is unique and breathtaking. I will start by saying that this movie is not completely historically accurate. For the most part spartan customs are portrayed accurately. However the number of Persians that the 300 soldiers fought was not one million. It was approximately 250,000 according to historians. Therefore, those who are not open to variation of historical fact should not see this movie. Also, the controversial depiction of Persians as deformed and ugly people is due to the fact that the story is told from the perspective of a Spartan.
With that said, 300 is a masterpiece in many other ways. The plot revolves around Greek King Leonidas's last stand against an approaching Persian army. Due to the fact that an ongoing Greek festival prevents him from sending an army Leonidas is accompanied only by a small army of Sparta's finest warriors. The movie also cuts to scenes with Leonidas's wife, Gorgo, attempting to persuade the senate to send more soldiers to aid Leonidas.
The imagery is probably the best point of this movie, where CGI is used to render backgrounds into unnatural shades of orange and brown. The action sequences compliment the imagery well and utilize large amounts of slow motion. Many people may say that the slow motion is excessive but I believe that it helps to create clear and artistic battle sequences. For example, 300 is one of the few epics where every slice of a sword, throw of a spear etc is uncensored and easy to discern. 300 fully utilizes its R-rating to show imagery that Troy and Alexander did not.
The acting is superb, especially from Gerard Butler(Leonidas). He manages to be a caring father and husband as well as a fierce leader. I have heard people say that there is too much yelling from Leonidas, however, if those people paid more attention they would realize that Leonidas only yells when he is on the battlefield.
I must admit that certain lines in the dialogue could have been improved. Also, there was nudity and sexual scenes in this movie that I thought could have been toned down. By that, I mean that the nudity or sexual scenes were sometimes unnecessary and didn't add that much to the story. Some of those who have seen the sex scene between Leonidas and Gorgo may agree with me when I say that it dragged on for too long and could have been less explicit.