Piece of trash

Rating: 1/10 (12 April 2007)

Let's forget for a moment that the battle of Thermopylen has been used for centuries as a sign of European superiority over Asian "Barbarism".
Let's keep aside the fact that the story is presented as the story of a single man (king) with a mission to defy the Asian hordes ignores his own laws (enforced by bribed bureaucrats in form of priests) and goes to war for what he considers a greater good.
Let's concentrate on the way this pseudo-historical story is presented.
We have the noble Spartan warriors with their perfect abs, their beautiful women, we have the more human looking Arkadians, the allies of Sparta, then we have the corrupt priests, all grossly disfigured and the Persian army with their freaks and monsters.
This all resembles more fantasy movie than a historical one about ancient Greece. In a word, it's ridiculous.
You hardly see a "free man" (Spartan that is) die, they are cracking jokes while slaughtering their enemies.
This fiesta of violence is underlined by a macho sounding narrator repeating words like "freedom", "bravery" etc.
I'm certainly not opposed to violent movies, but this senseless display of violence probably for the purpose to dehumanize Asians appalls me.
If the message of this movie weren't so dangerous, I would call it a "Baywath of violence" with all its slow-motion scenes of cut off arms, legs and heads.
I have rarely seen such a huge piece of bullshit in a movie!