‘300’ pumps up the testosterone

“Spartans, ready your breakfast and eat hearty … for tonight, we dine in hell,” Spartan King Leonidas growls to his band of fiercely sculpted warriors.
This and a dozen other rallying calls litter the film “300,” Director Zack Snyder’s interpretation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel.
The audience is presented with the historical Battle of Thermopylae, fought in 480 B.C., where the King of Sparta, Leonidas (Gerard Butler) led his army of a mere 300 men against the looming force of King Xerxes’ (Rodrigo Santoro) 170,000 Persians. Although the Spartans odds are staked against them, this mission is meant to buy time until the rest of the Greek forces can rally for the invasion.
Despite their lack of resources and the possibility of defeat, this only fuels the Spartans to utilize all of their strength to take down as many Persians as they can.
The plot line seems hand picked by any testosterone driven male you have encountered. We’ve all see the guys standing outside of class yelling, “This is Sparta,” while kicking their foot in the air. This film is laced with anger, painted with blood and sprinkled with brash images of decapitated heads and severed limbs.
The violence is rather excessive but yet it is not completely overpowering.
The characters are something out of a twisted children’s bedtime story and the actors, besides the obvious long hours of work the put into their physique, deliver the intense and relatively small amount of dialogue without seeming over the top.
Many viewers have looked forward to this film’s release because of the popularity of Frank Miller’s other graphic novel to set to film, “Sin City.”
While both are visually arresting, there is an obvious difference in cinematography.
CGI is used a great deal in both films but while “Sin City” walks closer to the line of Miller’s chiaroscuro illustrations (An element in art, defined as a bold contrast between light and dark), “300” features muted hues.
“300” appeals to several groups of people.
The girl who gets stuck with her boyfriend and wants to fawn over ripped guys, the boy who wants to feel the need to karate chop his friend as they walk out of the theatre and even fans of Miller’s work will enjoy this film.
It’s high octane but with a sense of intelligence and craftsmanship.
This film is rated R for graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity and can be seen at Carmike 14 Cinemas.