A major disappointment.

Rating: 3/10 (9 June 2007)

Caught in a temporal warp that causes everything to happen at half-speed, 300 buff Spartan warriors do battle with a massive invading Persian army (consisting of slaves, giants and assorted freaks), led by an impossibly tall, self-appointed 'god' (with a penchant for body-modification) named Xerxes.
Adapted from a graphic novel by Frank Miller, director Zack Snyder's paean to the noble warriors of ancient Greece is an aesthetically stunning, but ultimately hollow epic that exists purely to showcase a series of stylish battle sequences. Virtually plot less, 300 devotes most of its running time to mindless macho posturing and endless well choreographed skirmishes. Whilst this is fun for, say, an hour at the most, it eventually becomes tedious in the extreme.
With its CG rendered backdrops, beautiful lighting and faultless cinematography, 300 is visually arresting like classic Renaissance art brought to lifebut when applied to virtually every frame of the movie, this level of aesthetic perfection also starts to become tiresome. Likewise, an overuse of slow-motion drains the carefully composed battle sequences of life, leaving the viewer emotionally detached from what should be thrilling cinema. Used sparingly, these techniques can have a tremendous effect on the power of a movie, but Snyder has obviously forgotten that sometimes less is more and overcooks the whole damn mess.
It's a shame really, since Snyder had shown so much promise with his first movie, the impressively scary remake of Dawn of the Dead. And there is so much about 300 that could and should be praised (the set design, the amazing costumes, and realistic make-up and effects), that it makes it even harder for me to report that I was hugely disappointed by this overblown and rather pretentious 'blockbuster'.
A word of advice, Zack... next time, concentrate on telling a decent story, shoot enough footage so that you can afford to show the film at normal speed, lose the CGI blood, and get some decent actors.... if you screw up the long-awaited Watchmen adaptation, it might mean the end of your career.