Official Review Thread

[tzarinna]

It's getting bloody close and I maybe a lucky son*of*a****** and get to see it on Tues. *crosses fingers* t:

 

[SlushyFrog]

Hi, I was lucky enough to catch the screening of 300 at WonderCon last night. It was simply AMAZING. Imagine the trailer times ten. The action was breathtaking, the one-liners were great, the women were hot, and the story deeply heroic. I would definitely watch it again opening day. I guess to give you a gauge of my tastes: I liked Sin City (read the GNs beforehand), but I didn't think it was THAT great. I have yet to read 300, but I definitely will now. I'm not trying to rekindle any debates, but I really liked Superman Returns and thought X3 was entertaining at best. I really enjoyed Daredevil, but I found Ghost Rider painful to watch. Anyway, deep down 300 is a really simple story, but it was just put together so beautifully that I highly recommend it.

 

[tzarinna]

I can't wait.

 

[Grim Goblin]

The trailers I'd seen had definitely caught my interest but I was actually lucky enough to win a free pass at a comic shop for an early screening held tonight. I never read the book, I didn't know anything about the story besides what I caught in the trailers and that one page reference in Sin City:Big Fat Kill, so I had no pre-set expectations going in there.

Simply put, this film is amazing!

The performances were awesome, the action intense, the visuals were incredible (and I saw it in Imax too ), the dialogue was both strong and funny exactly when it was intended to be and the tasteful t&a didn't hurt either...

a few scenes that really caught my attentions were

Spoiler

when the Spartans first battle against the Persians in the narrow canyon. The coordination of their battle formations is simply too impressive to describe faithfully. All of the battles are breathtaking!

The half-naked dance sequence from the "teenage" oracle was mezmerizing, and not because of the slight nudity either.

When King Leonidas is requested to meet with the Persian God King after a long battle and, while eating an apple, is saying how there's no reason they can't be civilized...while his men are finishing off the wounded around them with their spears. Hilarious!

King Leonidas' look of satisfaction after he fulfills his promise of showing the Persians that "Even a God King can bleed".

Basically, this is a must-see for anyone wanting to experience an epic, powerful movie.

 

[TheBeastWithin]

I saw an advanced screening of '300' last night. This film is simply amazing. Like nothing anyone has seen. Zack Snyder actually improved Miller's work by adding a few pieces here and there that really worked. I'm going to see it again. The audienced applauded several times during and at the end of the film.

 

[anela]

i was at the premiere in l.a. last night but wanted to let it digest before i wrote anything. i really can't add anything that hasn't already been said, a few minor quibbles, but overall a very, very, very good film - it's definately not going to appeal to everyone though.

i am not a repeater, generally i view a movie once and only once. i will watch this movie again, the fight scenes are truly memorable.

 

[mrvlknight21]

Jeez, dont hype it up too much, I am afraid I will be let down! I will see it Friday.

 

[buddha182]

Jeez, dont hype it up too much, I am afraid I will be let down! I will see it Friday.

Not possible, unless you are REALLY picky... but just sit back and enjoy it and you'll be amazed.

 

[chesslover]

I hope the rest of you enjoy the movie. It's not playing here I may never go that theater again. frickin bastards.

 

[Shifty]

Seeing it Friday night!

 

[TripXyDE]

Greetings Fellow Hypsesters!

Here is my review/article on 300

it is partially for the local newspaper where I moonlight as a critic, and partially for my website http://www.justanotherfilmjunkie.blogspot.com/

ENJOY!

THE GLORIOUS IMMORTALITY OF THE 300
By Reymundo Salao
Just Another Film Junkie

300 is a film adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same title which recounts and immortalizes one of the greatest battles in history, the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C., in which 300 Spartans, led by its King Leonidas fought against invading Persian King Xerxes and his massive army of one million soldiers.

300’s epic tale has already been renowned, but Frank Miller intended the graphic novel to make this moment history greater, more immortal, and indeed the film does the same as it brings to life the world of how Frank Miller honors the valiance of the Spartans. Grounded on realism, tweaked by a sense of drama and modern action-film sensibilities, and faithful to Miller's ideas. The movie may not necessarily be historically accurate, but definitely faithful to the graphic novel. Miller was first inspired by the Spartans when he saw the film “300 Spartans” as a kid. By the time he gained his royal status in the comicbook industry by revolutionizing and rewriting the reputation of such characters like Batman, Daredevil, and Wolverine with such a mature and dark approach, he went on to do his research on the Spartans, even traveling to Greece itself to recreate the battle that boasted the reputation of the Spartans. Fast forward to the present, he is the executive producer who is now taking the recounts of history and creating an immortal mythology out of it.

The movie has a distinct cinematographic look and feel that takes you into the world of Frank Miller's 300. Everything has an accurate resemblance to the graphic novel, even done more artfully, as if the pages of the graphic novel itself translated into life reality. There are scenes that look like masterful paintings on canvass come to life. So much so that one can only embrace its full-blown beauty when one watches it in the movie theaters (It would certainly be a waste to watch it on a blurry pirated copy). The world of the 300 movie does not try to take you to an actual academically accurate take on this historical battle, no, it takes you into Miller's version of the Battle instead.

The director Zack Snyder employs basically a familiar style to how Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino approached the adaptation of Frank Miller's other creation, "SIN CITY" which is an outright direct interpretation of the source material, right up from the pages of the comic book and unto film, and we're talking scene-by-scene, color-by-color, tone-by-tone, dialogue-by-dialogue. But Snyder enhances the adaptation by adding relevant details that spice up the movie, from fighting sequence details, to additional villains, to complexities and depth of the storyline. Snyder also co-wrote the screenplay of this movie along with Kurt Johnstad, a screenplay that made the story more meaningful and more poetic. The narrative prose the movie has makes it more classic and timeless.

Zack Snyder may not have pioneered a unique style in this movie. He cannot claim his name on pioneering the visual "cinematographic comic book art-on-film" aspect of it and the employment of slow-motion and fast-motion action scenes, but he certainly uses all these styles with his own disciplined and flawlessly masterful use of such styles.

Gerard Butler's performance as Leonidas was suitable for a man who has the gutsy, unnatural courage, yet true to the virtues of love for country and for freedom. The impact of his powerful acting was suitable to portray such a heroic warrior-king. David Wenham, who's gained popularity as Faramir from Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy, played the role of Dilios, a Spartan warrior and poet by heart, who was also the narrator of this tale. His narration provided a vehicle for such rich prose that this storyline has. Lena Headey's portrayal of Queen Gorgo clearly mirrored Leonidas' courage. While Leonidas fights on the battlefield, Gorgo fights on the arena of politics, a subplot not included in the original graphic novel.

Purists would sometimes complain and argue how comic/graphic novel film adaptations can be so mellowed-down for a generally "pop" crowd, and would tend to deviate from the source material just to conform to popular standards of non-violence and a relatively general patronage. This adaptation of Frank Miller's "300" was not only faithful; it was intensified with a deeper sense of maturity and darkness. It never shied away from the graphic violence of the comics; it even gave the violence gorier detail, making it closer to x-rated violence. Like many war epics, this one is indeed bloody violent. But because of its distinct cinematography, it sometimes blurs the violence into something surreal. Keen observers may, for instance, take note that many of the blood splatter scenes looks as if intentionally looked less realistic and more closer to how the blood splatters in the artworks of the graphic novel from which this movie is based on. This movie is more daring, and that's even an understatement, as it gives a darker storyline in terms of the ones that involve the character of Queen Gorgo, Leonidas' wife. Recaffeinated, a vivid espresso version of the original, this film adaptation is Madness (in a good way), but as the line from the movie goes. "Madness? ...This IS SPARTA!"

There is no conservative inhibitive filtering of the sexual content either, yet it was done in a tasteful artful manner, without the hint of a sense of pornographic malice. There are minor scenes of nudity and sexual content that isn’t in the source material to begin with, but it felt right to include those scenes in a full feature-length film adaptation.

300 has this Nietzsche-ish ubermensch atmosphere, similar to watching movies like “Conan the Barbarian” and “Rambo”. Heroes fearlessly facing insurmountable odds and laughing at it with a confidence that could sometimes be a kind of arrogance, because one is fighting for what is good and honorable. A war epic with a boombastic inspirational strength and bound to be an immortal classic, 300 is looking to become the year’s biggest motion picture event.

 

[AnimeJune]

Wow. Well, I can say that I haven't had the pleasure of reading Frank Miller's graphic novel, because if the movie is as true to the material as you say, if I had read the novel I would have stayed way clear of this film.

Sorry, guys, but I thought 300 was a bimbo movie - as in, all looks, no brains. True, the graphics were amazing. Fantastic visuals. But by the end, it got gratuitous - did they have to use slow motion every three minutes? I mean, I like watching hot half-naked guys chop each into pieces, but there's only so many ways you can depict that on screen without it being repetitive.

Not to mention the film was appallingly written. Good Lord. More than half the dialogue is Leonidas spouting every cliched little-guys-vs-big-guys spiel in the history of spiel. "We fight! We die!" "We dine in hell!" "Stand True!" "Let's chop some heads," etc. etc. And how 'bout the "politics" back home with the Queen and Theron - um, yeah, they were completely graceless and obvious. Also, as a literature major, I couldn't find anything in the movie more annoying than Dilios' narration - he's an actual character, and yet he's an omniscient narrator? How does that work out? Is he psychic?

The plotting was also pretty linnear - not that I'm against linear stories, but in this case, where you know how the movie's going to end, the one-at-time enemies (soldiers-->masked soldiers-->elephants-->ooh! Sparkly grenades!) thing made it all look like a video game. That's basically it - it was like watching someone else play a video game for two hours, and the player's hacked into some cheats that made his characters invincible.

That said, if you watched this movie with the sound off, and added your own lines, this movie might be bearable, because the actors are all up to snuff and it's not their fault the writers have the combined reading level of a seventh-grader who works at Blockbuster. But still - compare 300 to a movie like Gladiator, which actually had narrative depth and intrigue as well as hot men and bloodletting, and you'll see what I mean.

Also:

Spoiler

The hunchbacked guy - was he supposed to be funny? I mean, I can understand his anger at the Spartan army, but all he needs to switch sides is a couple of nights in the Freakiest Harem in the World and a funny hat - er, I mean, "uniform"? I mean, really.

Also - the whole scene where Theron gets stabbed. Seriously! If you're an experienced turncoat, why would you go to a council intending to frame a woman for treason with a purse full of Persian money? When with one look at the coins, the whole council will scream, "Traitor! Traitor!" like a bunch of ******ed seagulls? Whose bright idea was that?

 

[SlushyFrog]

Wow. Well, I can say that I haven't had the pleasure of reading Frank Miller's graphic novel, because if the movie is as true to the material as you say, if I had read the novel I would have stayed way clear of this film.

Sorry, guys, but I thought 300 was a bimbo movie - as in, all looks, no brains. True, the graphics were amazing. Fantastic visuals. But by the end, it got gratuitous - did they have to use slow motion every three minutes? I mean, I like watching hot half-naked guys chop each into pieces, but there's only so many ways you can depict that on screen without it being repetitive.

Not to mention the film was appallingly written. Good Lord. More than half the dialogue is Leonidas spouting every cliched little-guys-vs-big-guys spiel in the history of spiel. "We fight! We die!" "We dine in hell!" "Stand True!" "Let's chop some heads," etc. etc. And how 'bout the "politics" back home with the Queen and Theron - um, yeah, they were completely graceless and obvious. Also, as a literature major, I couldn't find anything in the movie more annoying than Dilios' narration - he's an actual character, and yet he's an omniscient narrator? How does that work out? Is he psychic?

The plotting was also pretty linnear - not that I'm against linear stories, but in this case, where you know how the movie's going to end, the one-at-time enemies (soldiers-->masked soldiers-->elephants-->ooh! Sparkly grenades!) thing made it all look like a video game. That's basically it - it was like watching someone else play a video game for two hours, and the player's hacked into some cheats that made his characters invincible.

That said, if you watched this movie with the sound off, and added your own lines, this movie might be bearable, because the actors are all up to snuff and it's not their fault the writers have the combined reading level of a seventh-grader who works at Blockbuster. But still - compare 300 to a movie like Gladiator, which actually had narrative depth and intrigue as well as hot men and bloodletting, and you'll see what I mean.

And that is exactly why I loved the movie.

 

[AnimeJune]

And that is exactly why I loved the movie.

Could you be more specific - you loved it:
-because it was written by a bunch of drunken monkeys
-the action was repetitive
-the story made no sense
-the soft-core porn elements...wait, okay. Never mind. I know why you liked it.

 

[War Party]

Dilios survived the battle. So he's telling the tale of Leonidas and the 300 Spartans. So no, he isn't psychic.

 

[TripXyDE]

sure, you're entitled to your own opinion, AnimeJune. but let me refute on some things that you pointed out.

the graphic novel itself was purely a WAR movie. It was based on a reality of a REAL war that took place.

sure, they used slow-motion quite a lot. but in my opinion, the moments from which slow-motion was used were properly selected. there is a sort of emphasis when the slow-mo is used. for instance, when the arcadians were abandoning what remained of the 300 because they were afraid that they were gonna be finally doomed, there was a slow-mo to emphasize the idea that indeed there going to be fewer of them to fight the persians now.

the slow-motion of the fight scenes were used in order for the viewers to appreciate the fight-scene detail, every bloody step of the slaughter.

many critics hated the movie and compared it to video games.

- if they were saying this because of the visuals, perhaps it is because they could not accept this new style of action film-making of slow-mos and fast-motions. there is always an opposition for things that are new. perhaps they could not accept this new style of action film-making and immediately dub it as video-game-ish.

the storyline & the script were pretty simple because Spartans loved fighting. If you hated the lines like "We fight, we die, we dine in hell" etc... it is because, Spartans did not need to flower their words that promise slaughter.

you cant compare this to Gladiator. This was a war epic. Basically, the story should start and end with the war. the character in Gladiator has to go through a dramatic phase, from a general, to wouldve-been-king, to slave, to gladiator, to hero.

300 was a war epic. you should not expect it to be other than that.

 

[AnimeJune]

War Party: By omniscient narrator, I meant that not only does he know everything that happened (even though he was missing for the last battle because he was sent home), but he also knows what the Spartans were thinking, the thoughts going through their heads, their feelings, etc...when the narrator is supposed to be omniscient, most movies keep them anonymous (like Morgan Freeman in War of the Worlds, for instance) and sourceless - but when the narrator is a character, with flaws and biases, the narration is not supposed to be as deep as Dilios. For instance, his description of Leonidas' final spear-throw - that broke quite a few narrative rules.

sure, you're entitled to your own opinion, AnimeJune. but let me refute on some things that you pointed out.

the graphic novel itself was purely a WAR movie. It was based on a reality of a REAL war that took place.

It was a highly fictionalized adaptation of a fictionalized retelling of a historical event, actually. My friend interviewed the director - it was not intended to be historically accurate. This is irrelevant, though, I'm not complaining about historical (in)accuracy.

sure, they used slow-motion quite a lot. but in my opinion, the moments from which slow-motion was used were properly selected. there is a sort of emphasis when the slow-mo is used. for instance, when the arcadians were abandoning what remained of the 300 because they were afraid that they were gonna be finally doomed, there was a slow-mo to emphasize the idea that indeed there going to be fewer of them to fight the persians now.

the slow-motion of the fight scenes were used in order for the viewers to appreciate the fight-scene detail, every bloody step of the slaughter.

I agree that in some places the slow-mo was effectively used - I have nothing against slow-mo. My complaint was that it was over-used, so that it got tiresome and repetitive. You're right that slow-motion is used to emphasize, but by that definition it is not effective if it emphasizes everything. Does every splash of blood have to be slow? We'll just have to differ in opinion - I felt it didn't have to use it as much, and you felt it was approriate.

many critics hated the movie and compared it to video games.

- if they were saying this because of the visuals, perhaps it is because they could not accept this new style of action film-making of slow-mos and fast-motions. there is always an opposition for things that are new. perhaps they could not accept this new style of action film-making and immediately dub it as video-game-ish.

I liked the visuals - I felt they were a cool part of the movie. For me, it seemed like a videogame because of the linear daisy-chain plotting and stilted fight scenes. It played like a cut-scene - in how the scenes were built up, not necessarily in the visuals. For instance, the (slow-mo, ) scene where they watch the storm destroying the boats - that seemed like a cut-scene to me because I felt it didn't really contribute to the overall narrative. They fought the Persians one at a time - the Persians apparently never thought about mixing up their armies, but sent distinct portions one by one. It got repetitive after a while. The Spartans never even changed their tactics or tried new fighting strategies - it was just "if it's Persian, stab it!"

the storyline & the script were pretty simple because Spartans loved fighting. If you hated the lines like "We fight, we die, we dine in hell" etc... it is because, Spartans did not need to flower their words that promise slaughter.
Again, they used a very basic fighting style for the whole movie. In other war epics, most times the protagonists don't say, "lets camp out in one spot and fight the exactly same way until we're all dead," they change tactics, they try differing manoeuvres, sneak attacks, etc. If the Spartans were just a blunt fighting weapon - I honestly can't understand why a story about them would be considered interesting beyond the 300-against-a-million idea.

you cant compare this to Gladiator. This was a war epic. Basically, the story should start and end with the war. the character in Gladiator has to go through a dramatic phase, from a general, to wouldve-been-king, to slave, to gladiator, to hero.

That's fair, in a sense - I compared them because they were both stories, I felt, about men who sacrificed themselves against overwhelming odds.

300 was a war epic. you should not expect it to be other than that.

 

[Forever is over]

First of all I have not yet seen the movie but I have read the book several times. Dilios is telling a story of the 300 to rouse the troops who eventually defeated the persion armies. Of course he cannot read their minds and there is no way he could know any specifics of the final battle but you must keep in mind that in the context of the story, he is telling them a version that is probably far more romantic and inspiring then the actual events. And that is what we are reading and now watching in the movie.

When attempting to tell a story to a group of soldiers to inspire them in battle, it would be better to give them the fantastic version of events rather than all the cold,hard facts of it. I always felt like that was the reason the book and now the movie are so heavily stylized. It is because He is telling his version of the story which is full of awesome spartans kicking a** and taking initials because they have no time to take names. And I agree with the above poster that the Spartans were most likely not very poetic in their words and would probably not respond well to a poetic story.

 

[Selene]

This movie was so good.. I don't know what to say really.. I loved it.

Most people know the story already of the 300 so its not a surprise that.... SPOILER COMING..

They all die but the story itself is incredible.. The special effects are spectacular, very top notch, and the acting was stellar. Gerald Butler was perfect for this role.

The good thing I found out was that it wasn't as gory and bloody as I thought it would be, people exageratted on that part. And there is a bit of nudity in the begininning that wasn't really needed ( Im sure the men will disagree rofl).

I will be going to see this again on the Imax screen next week.. I highly suggest seeing it on a normal screen first though or you will miss alot of stuff.. meaning the screen will be too big to see everything you need to.

I give this a huge thumbs up!!


Go see it!

 

[War Party]

War Party: By omniscient narrator, I meant that not only does he know everything that happened (even though he was missing for the last battle because he was sent home), but he also knows what the Spartans were thinking, the thoughts going through their heads, their feelings, etc...when the narrator is supposed to be omniscient, most movies keep them anonymous (like Morgan Freeman in War of the Worlds, for instance) and sourceless - but when the narrator is a character, with flaws and biases, the narration is not supposed to be as deep as Dilios. For instance, his description of Leonidas' final spear-throw - that broke quite a few narrative rules.

Well the only thing I could say is that I could care less if they broke some narrative rules. it was a fun and entertaining film and I had a blast watching it.

 

[Dark_Lord]

Well...I saw it yesterday. I'm not good when it comes to reviewing movies but I can give you a one word review...AWESOME!

Everything was awesome. I especially liked the last scene! It was very cool.

 

[dpbrave84]

This movie was so good.. I don't know what to say really.. I loved it.

Most people know the story already of the 300 so its not a surprise that.... SPOILER COMING..

They all die but the story itself is incredible.. The special effects are spectacular, very top notch, and the acting was stellar. Gerald Butler was perfect for this role.

The good thing I found out was that it wasn't as gory and bloody as I thought it would be, people exageratted on that part. And there is a bit of nudity in the begininning that wasn't really needed ( Im sure the men will disagree rofl).

I will be going to see this again on the Imax screen next week.. I highly suggest seeing it on a normal screen first though or you will miss alot of stuff.. meaning the screen will be too big to see everything you need to.

I give this a huge thumbs up!!


Go see it!

i loved this movie....instant classic

 

[Darth Elektra]

Perfect...

Simply perfect.

CLASSIC, Period.

 

[Trainwreck2100]

this movie is definitely a must see on the big screen. My only problem, was the score probably could have been better.

 

[TripXyDE]

cant wait to watch it again when it opens in IMAX