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300 (2007)

Director: Zack Snyder

Average user rating

4 reviews

Synopsis

Adaptation of the graphic novel by Frank Miller about the battle fought between two ancient enemies.

Movie review

From Time Out London

Taking its cue from Frank Miller’s comic-book version of Greek history rather than the 1962 vintage swords-and-sandals epic ‘The 300 Spartans’, the latest Hollywood take on the heroics of Thermopylae brings us Gerard Butler’s hammy Scots-accented Spartan king Leonidas in an all-encompassing wash of computer-tooled blood-letting. In principle, it’s a great tale of derring-do, as vastly out-numbered Spartan warriors defend a mountain pass against the mighty Persian army, but Zack Snyder’s movie in no way does justice to it. What should be a thrilling saga of triumph over the odds becomes a yawn-inducing cavalcade of carnage as wave after wave – after wave, after wave – of the enemy lines up to be slashed, gashed, chopped, spiked, speared and generally mushed. Ho bloody hum.

Any ideological connotations to the fact we’re supposed to be cheering on the white guys as they scythe their way through turban-wearing Persian hordes? Hard to credit the picture with that much relevance, though it’ll doubtless be huge in US Army camps. And speaking of camp… Since it’s positively tumescent with macho posturing and somewhat bereft of humour, the film’s an absolute riot of ambiguous sexual signage. The buffed-up Spartans, for instance, go into battle wearing leather posing-pouches and little else, as they try to lure their foes into a narrow passage called the ‘Gates of Hell’, while Rodrigo Santoro’s Persian leader Xerxes delivers a queeny strop-fest pitched somewhere between RuPaul and Ming the Merciless. It might have been one of the great all-time mad, bad movies but for one thing – it’s just sooo boring.

Author: Trevor Johnston 2007-03-20 11:35:54

Time Out London Issue 1909: March 21-27 2007

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User reviews of this film

Technoguy said...

Posted on Jan 01 2008 19:56 Comic book to screen adaptations don't always work,but I felt this did.If people liked 'Rome' they'll like this.This has only one female,Leonidas's wife the Queen,who although feminine is a match for the matcho men.The subject matter lacks subtlety because it is a warrior culture,but it makes up for this in the powerful visuals.I was pleasantly surprised by the vigour,energy and panache of the storytelling.There was a cartoon element in the violence,squirts and dollops of blood-letting,but due to the stylization of the graphics it was justified.There was obviously an attempt at the ideology against the Asian hordes to run in parallel with the West's war against terrorism but you can ignore that.Suffice it to say the Greeks were at the formation of our civilized values fighting vs oriental despotisms.Although the depiction at times veered close to camp unintentionally,I felt it kept just this side of it well.With such an important historical event it is worth retelling in new ways.Here it takes on the character of myth.

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yduric said...

Posted on Aug 28 2007 23:41 '300'=000 As the Fench so appropriately like to put it, it is fortunate that ridiculousness doesn't kill, because in the case of this on-screen garbage, the Americans would have had time to die at least 300 times...

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Jimmy said...

Posted on Aug 25 2007 23:18 Great movie, blood and gore is overdone a little bit from time to time but still a great movie.

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Toni said...

Posted on Aug 06 2007 15:21 Absolutely fantastic - one of the best films I have ever seen! If you liked Sin City you will love this!!!

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