300
Reviewed by Ogre3000
Posted March 14, 2007
I read Frank Miller's excellent comic when it came out originally in 1998 in a 5 issue limited series from Dark Horse Comics. While it still had Miller's hardboiled story style and art, it was unusual, not his typical noir look. More like a "Bronze Age" styling, duller hues, bronzed darkened warriors and backgrounds, only the red capes and colorful costumed and armored enemies standing out. The series won 3 Eisner Awards (the highest awards in the comics industry, named after Will Eisner, creator of The Spirit) and was later collected into a huge oversized (coffee table style) graphic novel.
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Well, the movie 300 is pretty much the comic come alive upon the movie screen like Miller's earlier work, "Sin City". Loosely based on the Battle of Thermopylae, when 300 Spartans held the pass there against millions of Persian invaders. Beginning from the brutal childhood of King Leonidas (Gerald Butler) to adulthood and the Persian Invasion and famous battle, the film is a study of style, mood and the fierce flame of the Spartan way. And while the film is gritty and by our modern standards, harsh and cruel, it's gorgeously shot and has moments of breath-taking beauty.
And there's a lot of claims of historical inaccuracy; this is a stylized movie based on a comic, full of fire, blood and thunder and characters are blunt, intense and over-the-top. So, my message would be to critics, see the movie as a fictional retelling of a historic event and enjoy it. I know that I will see it many times, already have the comics, want the collected graphic novel, will buy the DVD and give 300 a solid 5 out of 5. Oh yes, very bloody, full of very violent deaths and plenty of gore, so take the R rating seriously...
Until next time,
OGRE3000
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