Trotted off to see the Zack Snyder (”Dawn of the Dead”) directed film “300″ last week.
Based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel, “300″ concerns the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae, where the King of Sparta led his army against the advancing Persians; the battle is said to have inspired all of Greece to band together against the Persians, and helped usher in the world’s first democracy.
The central character in this film is King Leonidas (he of the chocolate!), played by Gerard Butler (”Shooters”, “Reign of Fire”). He plays the noble, brave and immensely intelligent king of Sparta. He carries the part well and never fails to give the impression that he is in control of his own destiny, and is ready to die for his people.
The other central character is Queen Gorgo, played by Lena Headey (”The Brothers Grimm”, and once in Ballykissangel!!). This beautiful lady plays the part of fighting the politics on her husband’s behalf back in Sparta. This aside gives another angle to the film, apart from the all the blood letting!!
And, an honourable mention must go to Rodrigo Santoro (”Love Actually”, “Lost”) who playes Xerxes the Persian king. He carries the “god king” persona quite well.
This film is quite cgi enhanced, along the same lines as the other Frank Miller classic “Sin City”. However, this does not take from the beauty of the film.
I recommend that you go and look at this and enjoy it for what it is.
Action-packed!