Some great scenes, but not great overall

Rating: 5/10 (11 March 2007)

Forget the historical inaccuracies, forget the strange costuming, forget the fact that this feels like ancient Greek history on acid - is this a great movie? Unfortunately, despite its potential, it isn't. There are some truly great visual scenes, such as a sky so full of arrows that the sun is blocked out. There are some wonderful character moments, like the Spartan king debating whether to fight. But these are moments - and a movie needs more than just moments.
The film suffers in part due to the very computer technology that makes the stunning visuals possible. With no proper sets, there is a lack of continuity that sets would provide. For example, the bottomless pit from the trailer comes out of absolutely nowhere. It isn't there before the emissary is tossed in, and it isn't there afterwords. It is a computer effect, and comes out only when it is needed (there is a tree later on that does the same thing).
This is a film about images - and to a degree, it suffers because of that as well, as many of the images don't make sense in the larger picture, and often come across as overblown and comical. For example, while a single war rhino charging in slow motion towards the Spartan ranks, killing Persian soldiers as it moves, is an impressive and striking image, it doesn't make a lot of sense - surely the Persians would want to use more than one, and to have it die before killing so much as a single Spartan renders the scene anti-climactic. These beautiful and striking images bombard the viewer, but they are missing a cohesion that would elevate the entire film to fine art.
Ultimately, 300 is a beautiful example of both the strengths and limits of computer technology, and the art in motion it can create. It is a brilliant and beautiful technology demo. It's just a pity that it isn't a better movie.