70 million in ticket sales can’t be wrong. Right? I’ve been reading other reviews of 300 since I saw it on Sunday afternoon trying to answer one question: what did I miss? I didn’t get up for the restroom at any point, I didn’t take my eyes off the screen, I understood everything that was going on. Everyone else in the U.S. seems to love it. So, why didn’t I like 300?
It’s all surface. I’ve never read the graphic novel, so I’m not sure if 300 the film captures the overall look of the artwork; it certainly captures the look of a video game. If there’s any soul to the graphic novel, anything deeper than the pictures, the film did not capture it. It seemed to suffer from what a lot of comic book movies suffer from: superficial presentation of the elements with the story coming almost as an afterthought.
It doesn’t matter if the graphic novel was exciting. The content is mind blowingly exciting. 300 Spartans fighting the entire Persian army and holding them off for nearly two days. That should be some heart pounding, tense, exciting stuff.
And yet, Zack Snyder managed to make it boring. Maybe in the hands of someone with more experience, 300 would have been better. His only other theatrical direction credit is the remake of Dawn of the Dead. He co-wrote the script for 300, and hopefully, he will stay away from writing another script.
This doesn’t make me very hopeful for his film interpretation of Watchmen. 300 is pretty basic: its a small group fighting a big group. Watchmen is considerably more involved and intricate.
I found myself paying more attention to the costume detail, such as the various uniforms of the Persians and how the queen’s dress seemed to be held in place by a single leather strap. How was that engineered? Several weeks ago, I spoke to 300′s assistant costume designer, Christine Bieselin, who said that every cape, every sandal, every piece of armor was designed and constructed in house in the space of two months with an eye toward historical accuracy. I had a lot of opportunities to appreciate that hard work.
300 was definitely cool to look at. The battle scenes were well done and the Spartans looked amazing. There were a lot of striking images: the Spartans pushing the Persians over a cliff, Xerexes’ giant throne, the Oracle. Xerexes looked like RuPaul, but it worked for that sort of character.
Not to mention every one of the Spartans from the neck down. I could look at them for a while.
Guys, there are some gratuitous boob shots for you to enjoy, too. It’s like the boobs were inserted just so guys wouldn’t question their sexuality because they’re watching a bunch of hot Spartans fighting in close quarters while wearing nothing more than leather briefs.
I’ve seen Gerard Butler before, as the Phantom in Phantom of the Opera. He has an impressive range as an actor. As King Leonidas, with the beard and the hollering, he reminded me a lot of Brian Blessed screaming “DIVE!!!!!” in Flash Gordon. His mouth was huge! Like a Muppet!
Overall, the problem is that 300 is that it’s not about The Battle of Thermopylae. It’s about Frank Miller’s graphic novel.
Lisa Fary's earliest influences are Princess Leia, Rainbow Bright, Astronaut Barbie, and her 6th grade teacher, Ms. Palmer. She's angry that it's 2011 and she still doesn't have a hovercraft, but will accept a jetpack as consolation. That jetpack had better be pink with a rhinestone monogram. 
Which is about …The battle of thermopylae…;p
Even watching the previews I’ve felt like I was missing something, like I should be excited about it but I just wasn’t.
I haven’t seen it (yet), and I mainly want to see it because of the visuals, but here’s a review that kinda reflects yours: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=26910
My favorite part is “The simplest of acts are injected with grandiosity. I expected at some point King Leonidas (Gerard Butler, the Phantom in the big-screen Phantom of the Opera) would have to bend down and tie his shoe, and with each flick of his laces, there would be the swell of a symphony and lightning bolts shooting from his fingertips.”
What I meant by that last comment is that 300 is more about the task of bringing Miller’s images to the screen and creating a live action version of the comic.
If this were simply a movie about the Battle of Thermopylae, a standard historical drama in the vein of “Alexander” (ugh) or “Braveheart” it wouldn’t have been nearly as successful, not with the names that are attached to it. It would have to be “Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise in a Ridley Scott film. . . ”
“Gerard Butler and Take a Sh*t Guy in a Zack Snyder film” doesn’t sound like box office gold.
Much like Frank Miller’s other comic(s) turned movie Sin City, 300 is a very obvious attempt at preserving and showcasing his distinctive creative vision. Miller’s work has a heightened sense of reality and extravagance completely acceptable on page but requires a willingness to suspend disbelief once on screen which people may have trouble doing- especially if they are not aware that they are expected to do it. 300 is a comic book movie and like most comic book movies, as it is with all comic books, the production is highly stylized. That’s not everyone’s cup of tea- but that was the major point of the film. It was also the major point of the comic. Frank Miller’s comic wasn’t about the Battle of Thermopylae or some greater moral theme, it was about writing and drawing something he wanted to see. The film is a very loyal adaptation of the comic- even adapting it’s lack of story and character development (which is not entirely true as the movie elaborated on several characters and even gave Queen Gorgo her own subplot). So; I believe 300 to have fulfilled its goal well, although its goal is questionable.
I believe that this movie is about both the battle of Thermopylae and Frank Miller’s book. Yes, his artwork is stylized, and more importantly, with Sin City, his vision shouldn’t be compromised. As a woman, who adores comics (superheroes AND the good ones like The Watchmen, Sandman, and Strangers in Paradise), I really appreciated the movie and the way it looked. It was like Frank Miller’s book came to life and the movie itself? It was bloody and sexy and well choreographed. More importantly, it was beautifully acted with heart and zest.
I am so impressed that I want to see it again. At the IMAX.
Girls love blood too!
The more I think about it, the more I like it. I’m still not at that point of loving it, but its growing on me.
It’s a good movie, a tall-tale at it’s finest. It’s not historically accurate, but thank god, because like you said Alpha, it wouldn’t have been as successfull. I think it’s more about the sacrifice that King Leonidas made for his country than the actual battle. If you look at history the Spartans were so free and happy and strong…because they oppressed so many others..lol..Good review though.
Oh ya, and the uncanny resemblance to the dude from Flash Gordon is PRICELESS.
I went with a couple girl friends. One (a fan girl) was obsessed with the good looking guys, the other (a video editing student) loved the action scenes, but I (the artist) on the other hand know little to nothing of editing footage and am not attracted to guys with a lot of muscle. Yet, I was fascinated by this movie. I loved Frank Millers graphic novel and this movie captured it’s essence. The saturated colors, the grainy texture, now THAT is sexy.