The anti-epic for the hard rock generation

Rating: 9/10 (9 March 2007)

From the moment I heard that 300 was based on a Frank Miller graphic novel, I was hooked. I absolutely adored every minute of Frank Miller's Sin City, and liked it even more after I read all 7 graphic novels. So despite not reading the 300 graphic novel, I was still very hooked on the idea, and heavily anticipated the movie. And I was not all that disappointed with the final result.
300 is a heavily stylized version of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. To stop the advancing Persian army hellbent on ruling the Greek nation of Sparta, King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) brings 299 of his best men to fight against them. Despite having no real permission from Sparta's elders, Leonidas goes into battle anyway, as his wife, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), attempts to bargain and get more men to fight alongside him.
Despite being epic in its scale, 300 feels like anything but. Everything is so stylized and completely otherworldly that anyone hoping to come and get a history lesson or something in vein of Troy or Alexander is sadly looking in the wrong place. It is more of an anti-epic, and is significantly shorter than any film like those mentioned.
All of the scenes are played out in obvious CGI, allowing the scenery to take on a whole life of its own. Much like Sin City before it, everything looks real enough, but clearly looks to be computer animated. It brings a certain element of the graphic novel to life, and allows it to feel more original and not so comparative to those other ancient Greek-style epics. The colours used in the scenes, the backgrounds and on the characters themselves also look very graphic novel-esquire, and all add to how stylish and unique the film looks, particularly scenes that take place at night-time or just after a huge battle.
Speaking of battles, all of them are well choreographed and brought to life on screen. Slow motion sequences are frequently put to work here, and they only help to add to how amazingly choreographed and orchestrated the battle scenes are. Just watching these men fight so valiantly is an experience on its own. It is almost like it is a form of dance, coming to life right before our eyes. A dance of course, that is saturated in blood. It flows heavily and fluently throughout the picture, from the days of Leonidas youthful training, and well into every battle. It becomes so red when it flows in certain scenes that it almost turns black as it flies in the wind. Despite it being gratuitous in many areas, it was nowhere near as bad as I thought it would be. This may be as a result of it being all CGI-created (which makes for more blood flying through the air than landing on the ground), but it may just be that my appetite for graphic violence is more than should be expected.
Without ruining anything, some of the creatures and monsters that show up during some of these battles are also very cool looking in their uniqueness. They show mere glimpses of them in the trailers, but when they show up on screen, they feel like they are almost completely different in the way they look and act.
Another interesting aspect of the film is the use of music. In some scenes, the music pounds in epic opera tones, really stretching for how the film looks as opposed to how it plays out. It works very well, and allows it to feel more at home with the more contemporary epics. But unlike those epics, it blends right into the hard rock that plays throughout the majority of the battle scenes. It pounds and smashes almost at the same speed and veracity as these Spartans and Persians are battling. It is definitely something I was expecting from the trailers, but not something I expected to work so well during these scenes of hyper violence.
Butler does a great job carrying the film. He has an obvious presence from the moment he enters the film, and he just hands on with a great amount of strength throughout. Listening to him blare out Miller's poetic writing only continues to perpetuate how different the film is from other historical epics. David Wenham, Vincent Regan and the rest of the actors playing Spartan soldiers hold up to him greatly, and really do a good job at it (bringing in a lot of humour along with Butler throughout the film). Headey surprised me in how much intensity she brings to her role. She is strong-willed from the start and acts like she is almost a soldier herself. Dominic West and Rodrigo Santoro are okay in their roles, but they do not get nearly enough time to really sink their teeth into their roles.
If there is anything wrong with the film, it is in just how much style is brought into the film. It looks great when it starts, but watching almost every scene in slow motion becomes a little dull after awhile. Thankfully, many of these scenes are all different in how they are conveyed, but it still does not make up for just how much slow motion is used. I also think that it was slow in certain areas, but really quick in others. It felt like it could have been trimmed down a bit more than it already was, and could have been a whole lot faster paced as a result. It also lacks the spark that made Sin City such a beautiful film, but is more than a worthy successor.
While it has a few issues, 300 is the first great film of 2007 and no doubt, will have an impact on its viewers. It is a bloody good time, and has just enough uniqueness to set it apart from other epic-style films.
9/10.