300 screening review! (Spoilers)

[Nivek]

From AICN Butt Knumb A Thon, Augustus Gloop...

AICN 300 Review

40) 300 (Feature)

I don't know what I can say that will please anyone about this. I completely 100% in every way LOVED it. Unfortunately, I have kept myself away from the source material just to ensure I wouldn't pick it apart. More than one person told me it was not as true to Miller's work as it could have been and that they were disappointed to know that now the film has been made as it is, it will never be made the way they feel is the 'right' way. Someone else I think called it music made out of blood. I don't think that's entirely a fair metaphor.
While the battle scenes comprise a majority of the film, and they are I think everything the fans will be looking for, I never believe in violence for violence's sake. One theme that connects several of the selections this year is perseverance. Rocky Balboa says that it's not how much you can dish out but how much punishment you can take and still keep going. The heroine of Black Book perseveres through every horror the nazis can bestow. The characters in Knocked Up even keep working at it until they manage to become good parents and make their relationship work. The Spartans in 300 aren't so much taking punishment as they are dishing it out repeatedly, but they face overwhelming odds and still persevere to the last. The grim resignation of these characters, the unstoppable fire in them is inspiring and kept my throat choked up through much of the film. From a technical standpoint, the visuals were matchless, the acting was perfection, the costumes were, well, the warriors were mostly naked and the women in togas, the music wasn't very memorable, but the sounds of battle were likely driving it away. I believe 300 will spawn mixed feelings in audiences depending on how familiar they are with Miller's book and how closely they feel it matches, but I think there will be more positive response to this than
negative.

 

[Nivek]

From AICN contributer Vern...

300
This was the biggie, the final film of the night and the one everybody was waiting for.

The footage Zack Snyder and Warner Bros. showed at Comic-Con brought down the house and got me extremely pumped to see the film. I was ready.

Snyder was there and told us that 99% of the effects were finished, but then later said there were about 100 VFX shots still left to tweak, just new compositing layers. Which the film needs... but I'll get to that in a second.

On the whole, I dug the hell out of 300. Once Gerard Butler heads out with his 300 Spartan warriors to engage the advancing threat of the Persian army (millions strong), the movie doesn't let up. The battle scenes are incredibly well shot, beautiful... unlike anything you've seen before. You can see moments of LORD OF THE RINGS style pop up, mostly when you see the full armies from a distance, but the actual fighting is brutal, exaggerated, bloody and just plain old testosterone-driven cool.

The whole thing is exaggerated, not just the fighting. The colors, the costumes, the themes, the dialog, the villains, the heroes, everything in-between. Just like in Frank Miller's book.

It eased my mind a little when Snyder said during the Q&A afterwards that there were still over 100 VFX shots that were being tweaked and finished because there were some shots that looked a little cartoony. I attributed those to the early cut and didn't dwell on them when watching, but they did stand out to me... There seemed to be scenes that were CGI for no reason, just two people in a wide shot talking. I'd assume those were the types of shots the Snyder was referring to. Once completed, they wouldn't be so noticeable.

Is it as good as we want it to be? I can personally say this movie is a giant step forward for Zack Snyder as a filmmaker. The weak characters of DAWN OF THE DEAD kind of ruin my enjoyment of that film, but in 300 he has the style with the characters and substance to back it up, even in its exaggerated form.

The movie is indeed ****ing kick-ass. It's a must for anyone who calls themselves a geek or a film lover. Be excited for it, but don't expect your life to be changed. I can see the hype for this one fly higher than you'll reach when you're sitting in the audience. I just don't want people to be disappointed in a great movie because they expected it to be godly, you know?

 

[Loup]

you are a lucky man to have seen it.......I am pumped.......cant wait to see it...i havent been this pumped since Batman begins

 

[TNC9852002]

Ack...I'm avoiding spoilers. What do the reviews say?

-TNC

 

[Nivek]

you are a lucky man to have seen it.......

Um, I didn't see it, these are reviews from AICNs Butt Numb A Thon.

Ack...I'm avoiding spoilers. What do the reviews say?

-TNC

Positive Things.

Question, if you dont want spoilers, why even come into a thread with a clearly indicated Spoiler Warning?

 

[Nivek]

More AICN reviews from BNAT...

My review of 300 for you all...

It's kick-ass. Unlike Sin City, I don't feel it is style over substance--it very much keeps the drama and serious "this is for freedom" tone of the book. You could title this "Frank Miller's Braveheart" and not be far off.

In a weird way, I wasn't as blown away as I expected--NOT because I was let down by the film, but I felt like I had actually watched it before because of seeing so much behind the scenes footage and the huge promo at ComicCon. I wish I had gone in a little more blind. So if it has been off the radar for you, keep it that way!

The sepia-filled camera work is just stunning and it feels organic. I never felt like I was watching something CGI or green-screened, it honestly feels like they are outside, on the ocean, in the Hot Gates. There was only one shot they simply *must* fix and that's where Xerxes has his hands on Leonidas shoulders--Santoro is shorter than Butler, so they shot it seperately and superimposed it. And you can tell, it has that hideous circa 80's blue screen effect. Snyder said they were still touching scenes up and I really hope this is one of them.

I was disappointed in the score--a little too "Gladiator" and not enough NIN. It had to be hard to live up to that NIN song, but I am disappointed they chose to use the "female wailing vocalist" so much. The choral bombast (what you hear in the new trailer is the new score) is interesting, a little overpowering at times but it does work within the tone of the film. And there were some nice electric guitars during some of the most modern action scenes. But all these styles also make it a bit uneven--choir, electric guitars and Gladiator...should have picked one and stuck with it.

I think everyone turns in a solid performance. I really liked Lena Headley as Gorgo, she was sexy and tough and I think will walk away as being one of the most memorable characters in the film. I think the expansion of her character was a wise one, she gets to deliver the real-life Queen Gorgo's line "Only Spartan women give birth to men" and I loved it. However, her storyline with Dominic West's corrupt senator was very clunky. You can tell this isn't in Miller's original storyline, particularly because when he reveals his "master plan," it goes against real-life Spartan history that it just comes off silly, even in a superhero-hyped Sparta.

The subtle love story between Gorgo and Leonidas is really touching. Butler and Headley had great chemistry and you really feel they are husband and wife. When Butler does his final "My queen--my love" scene, I sighed.

David Wenham really isn't in the first half of the film much except for his narration. He has some really great fight scenes though--it's nice to see Faramir kicking some ass! He comes in big towards the end though and you just cheer.

And now, for my Gerard Butler. He is the perfect Leonidas, he's the sarcastic, determined and slightly mad hero of the book. I would follow him into battle and die at his side without question. Snyder really toned down all the "the king thinks to himself" scenes from the book so that you don't watch the whole film thinking "It's Leonidas--and a few other guys who follow him." He is the Spartan King, but he isn't front and center throughout the film which was smart. Another director might have cheesed that up. That said, I think this will prevent Butler from becoming too much of a household name. This is a movie about the 300 Spartans, not King Leonidas and the 299 Spartans. I don't see general audiences walking out and making him Russell Crowe, post Gladiator. I think it will raise his profile, particularly in the industry, but he won't be gracing the cover of People Magazine.

And because I cannot disappoint--he looks really ****ing hot throughout this movie and I was utterly hypnotized by the movement of his muscles. But I am afraid Grande Rojo is right and they did hear my squeal of joy throughout the theatre. I imagine Butler himself probably heard it over his morning and went "Och, keep it doon Lady Sheridan! People are watchin' a film there!"

 

[Nivek]

Yet another AICN BNAT review, but this one is kinda strange since the reviewer has some same sex repression issues, but you'll figure that out in the first paragraph...

Our final film, and my final call, 300. A word of warning, if you're homophobic in the slightest, you'll probably want to avoid this movie. It's very very gay. Maybe the gayest thing I've seen all year, and I watched some episodes of Torchwood. Seriously. The entire movie is bodybuilders in their underwear thrusting their hardened spears into other men and telling their comrades how much they love them, as they gently wipe blood and grime off of each other.
Beyond that, though, the movie kicks ass (and yes, breeders, meets and exceeds the boob
requirements. The redheaded dancer girl at the beginning is worth buying the DVD for.). The digital intermediate work is beyond incredible, giving this movie the truest "painting come to life" feel I've ever seen. The plot is simple-300 warriors fight an army. The action is almost like a dance, form before function. I think they mayhave tied the record with Peter Jackson for slow mo shots. The faux heavy metal soundtrack didn't quite mesh, but at least someone's thinking of the children. Comic fans, Gladiator fans, LOTR fans, let us unite and bow to the almighty altar that is 300.
The version we saw was "%99 complete", and despite what some audience members (who were
either seated too far back or were overridden with glee) say, it showed. You've shot someone with a nerf dart before, right? A number of shots had CG arrows/wounds that weren't fully rendered and tracked, there were some shots that still needed composite work, that sort of
thing, but this thing was more than watchable, almost pristine. It's already a beautiful sight.