The Art of Being Cool

Rating: 10/10 (1 August 2009)

I was meaning to put the title "style AND substance... but mainly style", but you wouldn't even bother to read the article then. It might be true, though, but I think that style vs. substance nag comes from the same intellectual basket as does chicken vs. egg, and is therefore irrelevant.
Coolness is what "300" is about, same as "Pulp Fiction" was so many years ago. It's not about history or historical accuracy and certainly not about some balanced point of view on the events depicted. If you expected that look somewhere else. I would have expected that and probably be disappointed hadn't I firstly read the Frank Miller's comic book the movie is based on. And since I couldn't hold anything against artistic liberties Miller took with his work I would have been unfair to do it with filmed version either, because it's been done almost verbatim.
Needless to say "300" is visually stunning. Or cool, if you want. From color grading to direction to the use of CGI, there has hardly been a flaw. It seems Zack Snyder should be henceforth forced to direct as many epic blockbusters as possible since he obviously knows how. Scott, Stone, Petersen and others can retire. "300" is impressive, energetic, sexy, humorous, poignant (when it needs to be) and resonates long after viewing, in short a future classic. I won't go as far as to say this is the best movie there is, but to make it a classic it only needs to satisfy one criteria - to make one wanna see it again (and again and again). And it does.
Yet, there are people who are only concerned with inaccuracy and bias in content it presents. I have to defend "300" on that point because it just isn't fair. Why? Because it occurred to me that while the events at Thermopylae didn't go down exactly this way and the Persians most certainly weren't like those depicted - that's EXACTLY how Spartans would have seen them AT the time. It occurred to me that "300" is the Spartans' point of view on that part of history. That's why Persians are seen like monsters from hell, that's why Athenians are mocked as cowards, that's why you don't see other Greek nations battling alongside. That's perfectly in line with Spartans' well known arrogance and to this end the movie is an accurate portrayal of Spartans' mentality. The difference is you don't get to objectively observe it from by-stands, it pulls you right in the middle, whether you like it or not.
Other critics are worried about political weight of "300" in today's world. Some see it as a pamphlet against Middle-Eastern nations. But that's a shallow and ill-meaning view. It is, however, a perfect example of how each side sees the other in times of conflict. But, there is no politically correct resolution at the end in terms of "we're all the same" and "lets hold hands". I'd say it is so because the makers didn't give a hoot about contemporary politics and rightfully so - they just wanted to make a cool piece of cinema. But if they, by any chance, had politics in mind then I commend them for not balking in the end and playing safe. There are enough "politically safe" movies going around, this one punches you in the gut and doesn't apologize for that.