HEAD TO HEAD - Movie Review: 300
This is Sparta!
The film is based on Frank Miller's 300, a graphic novel about the Battle of Thermopylae circa 480 B.C.E.
From the very beginning of the movie, the cinematography was otherworldly. The theater has not seen fight scenes this well choreographed since the Matrix. Each frame was a beautiful, masterful work of art. As the movie progressed, it became quite clear that a lot of planning and storyboarding took place before any shot was filmed. Each character was perfectly placed, every angle perfectly shot, and every sound perfectly timed. This movie was half-comic book; the other half was either dream or nightmare, I can't decide.
This film deserves Oscars for Cinematography, Visual Effects and Film Editing; the thunder in the dark skies, the views overlooking the cliffs, and the magical beasts that Xerxes unleashed were elaborate and finely-detailed. The "lobster dude" particularly stood out for me. I must admit that the beheadings did get tiresome after a while.
In a way, this movie was like all the others in the recent onslaught of violent sword-and-shield with bow-and-arrow era big battle scene films (Troy, Kingdom of Heaven, King Arthur, The Lord of the Rings, etc.), but at the same time, it is not. The oft-used special effect of speeding up and slowing down the action to make it appear as if the faster action sequence is super-fast, took on a whole new meaning in 300's visual smorgasbord.
The film's length (just under two hours) was perfect because it left you wanting more. The movie did not drag on at all and did not unnecessarily dilly-dally in the pre-fight sequences. These scenes were actually the most interesting, as all the tension climaxed to unbridled passion and warfare.
All of the acting was great, even in the fight scenes. The exquisite Lena Heady conveyed Queen Gorgo's passion for her country very well. Dominic West captured well the two-timing SOB, Theron. And of course, Leonidas was a deranged fanatic, and not of the Philly Phanatic variety either. Xerxes was impressive as well, and the vocoder effect was awesome.
The film overall was a work of art in itself, a fitting tribute to graphic novels, comic books and computer-generated graphics. If you are looking for witty banter or romance though, this was not that movie. Therefore, I give this movie an A for visual effects and a B for everything else.
Overall Grade: A
- Bernard
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Jason's Take...
Up, Up, Down,Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select, Start!
Running Time: 117 minutes (and that's about the only thing we'll agree on)
300 is a glorious visual achievement. As the scenes of the film unravel, one begins to understand the marvel and giddiness that the filmmakers must have felt when they first experienced the freedom of a completely malleable backdrop. Lightning bolts have a special sizzle, gloomy corners are especially...gloomy, and all that is uneventful and mundane about the real world can be omitted with the click of a mouse. Amidst this dreamlike backdrop, director Zack Snyder placed countless beefy actors whose chiseled abs, bulging pecks, and uniform lack of chest hair established just how imposing (and sexy) the Spartans were. Unfortunately, somewhere amongst the technical wizardry and gleaming six packs 300 lost something - namely...a plot, realistic dialogue, and meaningful characters.
In what won't be a spoiler (if you have seen the previews or know the story of the Battle of Thermopylae), it is important to know going in that 300 is a very violent movie. While I enjoy the occasional Hostel torture scene as much as the next guy, I had hoped going in that the violence and blood in 300 would be more Gladiator than Rambo - I was wrong. By the time the third nameless enemy of the 300 was "artistically" beheaded, I found myself looking around my seat for a Playstation controller. It wasn't particularly the style of violence that became boring (the spraying blood effect was somewhat cool - for the first hour), but rather the repetitive nature of the slayings. I mean after all, they're Spartans - don't they know more than one way to stab baddies through the chest with their harpoon? [Authors note - it's probably a spear, but I don't really know any better and I like the word harpoon]
Harpoon.
If one could look beyond the Mortal Kombat style violence of 300, they would be staring at a blank screen. In a cast of characters that is as ludicrous as it is unexplained, our hero Leonidas (a Spartan with a Scottish accent) is backed up by a ragtag bunch that includes a sniveling hunchback, a fat guy with lobster arms, and a rather feminine super villain who also happens to be at least eight feet tall. While these characters might have had interesting back stories, film time is apparently better spent on beheadings and flexing (in no particular order), leaving the viewer to decide for themselves where the characters came from. [I created a rather exciting side story for the feminine super villain (Xerxes) in which he was a misunderstood British basketball player who had just come out of the closet and was now in Greece for the Olympics - feel free to borrow]
Left on his own to carry the movie was Gerard Butler, who makes a gallant effort, but was unfortunately trapped amongst the gaggle of lobster-men and terrible dialogue. Case in point: in a terrible lapse of editing, someone decided that Leonidas should address his fellow warriors as "Spartans!" every time he spoke to them.
"SPARTANS! - attack!"
"SPARTANS! - push these dead bodies off the pile!"
"SPARTANS! - pass the ketchup!"
By the end of the movie he was starting to sound like Optimus Prime ("AUTOBOTS! - ROLL OUT!").
As it reaches the end of 117 minutes and the conclusion that everyone expects, 300 takes the viewer through a high speed tour de force of exciting visuals...and not much else. While the new approach to film-making is unique and has much promise, it might do future filmmakers well to pay attention to other aspects of the movie before they unleash it on the public. Acting, character development, and plot all have something to contribute when it comes to fine movie making.
Time for me to do some ab work.
Overall Grade: C (but I'm sure the video game is great...or was that the video game?)
- Jason
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