I’m not usually such a huge fan of violent films. Ok, maybe I am, but I don’t generally seek them out because they’re violent. I want to see realism, and if there’s violence then it’d better be pretty realistic too. No cutting away lest we see something icky.
So I knew 300 would be violent and I was ok with this. Mostly because I’m a fangirl for almost anything Frank Miller has made so film adaptations of his work are must sees. Sin City was spectacularly well done. I think I’m still recovering from the awesomeness of that film. There’s just something wonderful about a badass who isn’t afraid to use violence against truly evil foes. This of course applies perfectly to the characters in 300.
First off, I am sick of people bitching about how it wasn’t historically accurate. Ok, maybe that’s because the film is an adaptation of a graphic novel that was never designed to have all the details correct. It was designed to be a fantastic read as well as stunningly illustrated. That’s all the movie was supposed to be as well. I can understand why people would have a problem with this if it was written specifically for the screen without any previous interpretations and the writers left out parts they felt weren’t interesting enough. I think what Frank Miller and the makers of this film were trying to convey is how freaking amazing these men were for even being there and standing up for Sparta against such impossible odds. So they went over the top with the fight sequences and added in some mythological creatures. Who cares? Their deed is still as heroic whether you watch this film or read about it in the history books. People just need to have something literally thrown in their face to understand it these days.
Anyways, the film was super slick. Visually astounding, I could have probably watched it with the sound off because it was just so gorgeously done. They even made the fight scenes beautiful. The dialogue was hilariously overdone but hell, you need a huge injection of testosterone if you’re trying to take on such a momentous task. Also, it added comedic value and strengthened the image of the Spartan army to the audience.
Gerard Butler as Leonidas was fantastic. The fact that he previously played the Phantom of the Opera blows my mind. He is obviously a talented actor for being able to take on such varied roles. I just about screamed my head off when Lena Headey (Queen Gorgo) stabbed that rapist traitor. I love strong women and she embodied that character wonderfully. The rest of the cast was very well played too though they don’t stand out as much to me. The physical condition those actors had to get into to play the Spartan army was mindboggling. I can’t imagine training that hard, though to be that fit, even if for the film, would certainly be addictive!
I don’t even know what else to say because the film was just superb. It won’t win any Oscars or be touted as one of the best of all time but that was never it’s intent. It was supposed to be a recreation of a stunning graphic novel, with some badass characters who just ooze testosterone and hilarious lines. It definitely succeeded.
(comment)
gyger
2007-04-15 08:41 pm UTC (link)
Even the ending credits were done exceptionally well. Us media design nerds were sitting there, while everyone else was walking out, drooling over it and how well done the entire movie was as a whole.
The only way i see this film being better is if they somehow took pure testosterone, made film out of it and then filmed the entire movie on that strip of manlieness.