'This is Sparta!'

Rating: 7/10 (21 October 2018)

Well almost; the story which has no basis in reality, armies winning battles when hopelessly outnumbered, terrible terrible accents that are barely from the same planet let along the right region - this film is clearly one of the inspirations for '300'.
This is my first viewing of the film, 23 years after its release. I'm pleased to say that I hadn't missed much.
On the plus side, the cinematography and soundtrack were both beautiful.
The rest was average at best. Presumably when Mel cast himself in the lead as a heroic, principled, freedom fighter he thought that only he would have the prowess and credibility to pull it off. Clearly Mel's ego is as vast as some of the panoramic shots in the film.
The characters were all old school, the wicked king with his weak and childish son. The freedom fighter hero, who is inspired to fight by his beautiful dead wife, murdered by one of the men employed by the wicked king. The traitor who ultimately repents and finds redemption, and various other cliches live within this film. To be fair, these character types are classic for a reason.
Despite my cynicism, I did generally enjoy the film, although now I've seen it I doubt i'll be rushing back for a second viewing.
If you like the idea of Mel being the consummate hero freedom fighter then give it a whirl, if you find that tiresome then there are thousands of better films out there...