"Prepare for
Gory...
Glory!" |
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Directed by Zack Snyder
- Written by Z. Snyder,
Kurt Johnstad, Michael
Gordon
Starring Gerard Butler,
Lena Headey, Dominic
West
David Wenham, Vincent
Regan, Rodrigo Santoro
Distributed by WB -
2007 - 117m - Rated R |
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Are you ready for a movie about muscular, scantily clad men slicing
and dicing their way through thousands of faceless enemies, shouting
virtually every line of dialogue at the top of their lungs and ranting
about freedom and the way of the warrior?
Oh, don’t lie. Of course you are. |
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“300” is quite
possibly the most testosterone-soaked movie I have ever seen, managing
to even top the incredible machismo of the first “Predator” and “Die
Hard” films. Everything about this movie, from the outrageous level of
blood and violence to the tough guy one-liners to the ample amount of
female nudity screams one word: MAN.
And for the ladies you have Gerard Butler running around in leather
underpants for two hours. Is that a fair trade? I await your emails.
“300” is based off of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, which in turn, is
based off of the battle of Thermopylae, where a small group of
Spartans held off a massive army of Persians. Rather than a
historical, literal retelling of the events, Miller’s comic elevated
the story to that of a legend, like something out of Homer’s “The
Illiad” or “The Odyssey.” For the film adaptation, director Zach
Snyder has taken that tone literally.
One thing can be said about Snyder (whose remake of “Dawn of the Dead”
was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2004)…he sure can shoot
action. If you’ve seen the trailers for this movie, you’ve already
gotten a taste of the visual wonders that “300” contains. Like that
other Miller adaptation, “Sin City,” “300” is shot entirely in front
of green screens and the background is CGI’d in later, mimicking the
style of the original artwork. “Sin City” is to film noir what “300”
is to period epics. Both take a genre and create a hyper real
extension of anything and everything we have seen before, but are so
honest and non-pretentious in their presentation, that this is seen as
style rather than lazy filmmaking.
So…if you liked “Sin City,” you will undoubtedly love “300.”
But if you didn’t like the former, don’t rule out the latter yet…but
at the same time, don’t get your hopes up.
Where was I? Oh yes. Zach Snyder.
This is a gorgeous movie…simply gorgeous. It look fantastic…the most
mundane shots in the film are still filled with a beauty rarely seen
even in the best movies out there. The computer generated locations or
beautiful…the editing is beautiful…the cinematography is
beautiful…hell, even the people are beautiful. If the action doesn’t
entice you, then Gerard Butler or Lena Headey will (particularly since
both show quite a bit of skin throughout the film).
Yeah, this movie is filled with sex. But the sex is nothing compared
to the violence, which, although stylized, is brutal. The last 2/3 of
the film is virtually one long battle with heads being lopped off,
limps hacked away, torsos impaled and just about any other form of
violence you can possibly imagine.
Now, I’m not one to endorse violence, but damn…THIS is cinematic
violence!
Ultimately, the good traits of “300” act as a double-edged sword. Much
of what makes it unique also keeps it from being the masterpiece that
myself, and thousands of internet fanboys, wish it would be.
In order to fit the tone of an epic poem, everything in “300” is taken
up to the hilt. Everyone yells. Everyone reacts violently. And while
this is wonderful in a visceral way, the ultimate effect makes the
entire thing feel a little hollow at times. These characters are just
broad caricatures. Certainly, the same thing could be said about
Hercules or Odysseus, but they’ve had thousands of years to become
ingrained in our consciousness, whereas “300” tries to pull a legend
out of it’s ass.
I highly recommend this film. Truly. I had a blast. The person I saw
it with had a blast. This is an amazing, almost unparalleled visual
experience.
But that’s it. Visual. There’s no human heart here. Still, with two
movies under his belt, Snyder has proven himself to be an exciting
director. His next film is an adaptation of Alan Moore’s “Watchmen,”
the “Citizen Kane” of comic books. This will be his chance to prove
whether or not he can do characters. I’m pulling for him.
Gerard Butler Uses an Abs-Master in
300. |
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© Written by Jacob Hall -
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