Movie Review: 300

[WesDavid]

3 times better than 100

This movie is one part mother-effing ass kickery...


... and one part chick flick (but with nudity and lesbians)

300 is a fairly simple movie to synopsize:  Three hundred of Sparta's finest conduct a suicidal holding action from an invading Persian horde.

With that out of the way, I can get on with raving about how totally splendid this movie is.

Script:  The first order of business in assessing a film's quality, in my mind, is its screenplay.  As a writer myself, I am critical and judgmental about other people's work.  There are plenty of excellent ideas and premises that fail because story was poorly delivered.  All of that starts with the writing.

300 is an excellent story.  It's premise is simple enough, but the depth of its characters, the multiple fronts of conflict and its poignancy all build on the foundation laid out in the script.  (My only real complaint about the story was the less-than-satisfying and all-too-convenient resolution of the conflict between Queen Gorgo and Theron.)

Style: Like Sin City before it, 300 has a very comic book style to it.  The imagery is painted with a grainy and gritty overtone, with the colors in the scenes muted or otherwise altered to express the point of the scene.  Obviously, many movies manipulate the senses in order to magnify a point or to make subtle one, but 300 does an excellent job.

Scene: There is a lot to be said for quality of direction.  For me, direction is about deciding what each individual shot should look like.  Scenes should not be disposable and they should not be filmed unless you have put some thought into it.  A movie has only so many images to tell a story.  When filming a shot, the better directors take that opportunity to make that shot stand on its own.  300 does this very well.

Nothing says “oh shit!” like a hundred thousand arrows raining down on you.

Skin: Check and check.

Slash: Much ass was kicked in this movie.

Sadness: 300 has its poignant moments.  It's very premise is one of self-sacrifice.  On that point, it predictably delivers.  It's touching, because nobody wants to see the good guys die, even in a selfless and heroic context. However, I think the movie understands its role and its purpose and stays within its boundaries.  300 doesn't try very hard to be a metaphor about war or the human condition.  A movie that has mutants, chick on chick action and shows least three slow-motion decapitations really has no right to wax philosophical about the tragedy of war, the human tendency for imperialism or back-stabbing and corrupt politicians.

On the same token, though, 300 takes itself seriously enough to... well... be taken seriously.  It isn't a mindless action flick.  It isn't a mindless chick flick.  In fact, it wasn't mindless at all.  It seems that everything you see and experience while watching the movie was supposed to be there.  I think that's the way it's supposed to be.

Verdict:  Totally did not suck

[Jertog]

hmmm, when I saw the previews on TV, I thought "What a fucking stupid looking movie" but, after reading your review that has changed to "I might be willing to pay to go watch this movie............or I could just slip in while noone's looking" hehehehe

[Cobra14]

From an IMDB review -

"...However to my surprise I ended up watching half naked sweaty guys yell....a lot, then run around half naked and kill other half naked guys in slow motion a hundred times in the exact same way."

ROFL, I didn't realize that until just now.  A whole new perspective!


My review:

It didn't piss me off and had boobies, two thumbs up.

[Adoration]

As a chick, I loved this film.  I have seen Sin City and I pretty  much had an idea of what this was going to be, but what ever issues I may have had with some of the over the top acting, as a whole, the movie worked.

It's definatly a watch a couple of more times, type of flick because they have so much going on at the same time, you don't always catch it all in time.  Kind of makes you wish movie theathers came with Rewind buttons.  And Pause buttons.

Also. Gerard Butler's abs.


MMMM MMMMMMMM, Now them's good Movie.

[WesDavid]

I presume that the actors in the movie are wearing costumes and make-up for those physiques.  Anyone have a reference that says otherwise?

[Adoration]

Oh say the article in Mens Health Magazine, where Gerard describes his grueling four month workout plan in order to get those delicoius abs. Would that work?

[WesDavid]

Only four "grueling" months to look like I've descended from Hecules?

I was going to go to Taco Bell for lunch today, too.

[Adoration]

How he got all Yummy

[Brother Pain]

I really should check the Critic's Corner section more often.

That being said, I thought 300 was great. It had plot AND violence. The only thing I really, absolutely hated was every single line that said that they were protecting freedom. Now, I haven't read Frank Miller's 300 (a flaw on my part, I know), but the Spartan city-state wasn't exactly free. Sure, if you were one of the 10% or so of the population that was a soldier, I'm sure it was great, but the rest of the population were not in fact free. That, and it just reminded me of certain world leaders' arguments for recent real-world conflicts, and felt about equally fake.
Anytime there wasn't talk about protecting freedom or democracy though, the movie was made of violence and win, which is good

[cshelton]

"Warning: this topic has not been posted in for at least 120 days.
Unless you're sure you want to reply, please consider starting a new topic. "

Yes, I am sure that I want to reply. Seems I always missed this section.

I just wanted to say that I agree completely with Wes. However Mellissa HATES this movie. She watched it once with me and then found something else to do every other time I tried to put it on. When I asked her what she didn't like about it she said she just thought it was stupid. To each their own?