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Written by Chris Vognar, MCT
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Tuesday, 06 March 2007 |
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300
Grade: B
Starring Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, Vincent Regan and Rodrigo Santoro. Directed by Zack Snyder. Rated R (strong violence, sexual content, nudity). In wide release. 117 min.
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I'm probably not the only movie watcher who has a wristwatch rule. It's pretty simple, really: The earlier you look at your watch (or cellphone), the less engaged you are by what you're seeing up there on the screen.
"300," the blood-spattering sword-and-sandals yarn based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, can be simplistic and excessive. But by the time I felt the need to check the time it was almost over. Which means it's definitely not boring.
And for followers of Miller, the man behind the similarly ultraviolent "Sin City" and popular incarnations of comics heroes including Daredevil, Batman and Wolverine, it will likely be heaven. A digitized cornucopia of craggy mountains, dark clouds, soaring arrows, decapitations and hand-to-hand combat that would make an Ultimate Fighting Champion quiver in fear, "300" is enough to mobilize the pulse of adult teenagers everywhere.
All that, and it's even based on a true story. King Leonidas of Sparta led his badly outnumbered troops into battle with the Persian army led by Xerxes I in 480 BC. With a superior knowledge of the terrain, and, of course, the heart of a true warrior, Leonidas, played here by the uber-buff Gerard Butler, valiantly held off the Persians at the pass of Thermopylae. I won't tell you how it ended, but it appears much blood was shed. And many heads went flying in the air, including some at the claws of a rotund Persian crab creature.
OK, that last part didn't really happen. But wouldn't it have been more fun if it had? "300" is that kind of movie, a mythical embellishment of ancient history that paints the screen red and even squeezes in some crazy critters. If you're expecting a remake of 1962's "The 300 Spartans," which covers the same ground, then welcome to the 21st century (and a hard R rating).
"300" weaves a bit of political intrigue between the battle sequences, most of it involving the corrupt power player Theron (Dominic West) and the deformed traitor Ephialtes (Andrew Tiernan). The movie even allows for some glossy sex between Leonidas and his queen, Gorgo (Lena Headey), which looks like something out of a soft-core perfume commercial. But the bulk of the movie is devoted to highly stylized combat. Spears and swords tear into flesh. Persian elephants go flying off cliffs. Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), a hairless, effeminate chap who makes Leonidas look even more manly by comparison, sends wave after wave of fighters against the Spartans, only to see them punctured and hacked to bits.
It's a relentless feast of testosterone, rendered in vivid layers of virtual scenery. It's obvious that the backdrops aren't real, but they're impressively integrated into the live action. Some scenes look like they've been dipped in bronze; others have a silvery hue that conjures a mood somewhere between color and black and white. The costumes and makeup are fetishistic in their ornate detail. Miller, who knows a thing or two about graphic presentation from his background in comics, should be tickled with the movie's look.
For that's what "300" is: an adult comic book come to life in bloody glory, much like "Sin City." Its pumped-up machismo is the stuff of adolescent fantasy, right down to the battle music that sounds like an instrumental Limp Bizkit loop. "300" is about as subtle as a spear through the head. But it's also shamelessly entertaining, and not a bad way to make time move a little faster.
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