Great expectations

Rating: 5/10 (7 August 2007)

The Battle of Thermopylae was the basis for this film, but more accurately, as some have so emphatically pointed out, it was Frank Miller's fictionalized graphic novel that provided inspiration. The film has drawn flak for its supposedly racial bias against the Persians, although I don't see what the strum and drang is all about. There aren't any Persians in this millennium to speak of, at least not as portrayed in the movie. Today they are called Iranians. Do you see any nose-ringed, bodily-pierced,almost-naked Iranian running around (or aloft in golden thrones carried by cowering slaves) claiming to be a god-king and ruler of the world? Do you see a vast number of armed men wearing iron masks and call themselves the Immortals? Its a historical piece, people, and back then the lands of the Greeks were most coveted by almost any marauding tyrant for their verdant and fertile fields. That's why the Spartans were created. Their country lived under the constant threat of war. What would you do but create the most efficient, fearless and unyielding army no one dare have the misfortune of crossing? I have no beef with filmmakers who take a few liberties with factual or historical portrayals, even in the most blatant sins of commissions (Genghis Khan=John Wayne??), or portray several races as they were then, political correctness be damned, so as to induce in his audience the coveted "suspension of disbelief" experience.
But on the merits of a film, on the storytelling side of any movie you decide to spend time watching, there is a tacit agreement I believe is inviolable. When a filmmaker convinces you before you seat yourself in front of a screen, by media hype or some well-edited trailer, that he has a story to tell, you ALWAYS hope its good.Entertaining.Engaging. Or at least disturbing enough you want to scream about it (think Michael Moore). But the worst reaction to have is to feel insulted. And along with 300's actor's wooden and B-grade performances, this film has an elephant's load of instances. Take this prime example. The narrator is a soldier asked by his king to return to Sparta, as a witness of all their valor and deeds. But he has left the scene of battle just before a major skirmish ensued, one that would eventually take the lives of every Spartan left there. How then could he describe in detail the king's actions from taking off his helmet and throwing down his spear and dropping his spear when he wasn't even there? Which brings me to my critique. This film was over-narrated, its actors' performance tepid, its script mildly comical. I wish the Spartans were portrayed better, because they stood for something more than gorgeous choreography and clichÃ©d lines. The 5 points I award it is for cinematography and costume.