Review: 300

Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is the story of the incredible Battle of Thermopylae where King Leonidas leads 300 of his mightiest Spartans to fight against Xerxes and hordes of his Persian army. One big kick ass battle ensues!

O.K., let me catch my breath! I feel like writing the whole review in caps! First off, GO SEE THIS MOVIE NOW!!!! Second, GO SEE IT AGAIN!!! This was a phenomenal movie! Stylish, brutal and you’re glued to the screen the whole time! This is what it’s all about folks! I walked out of this movie with a big smile on my face, all pumped up and contemplating whether or not I should become a life-long member of Soloflex…that, or shave my belly hair to look like abs! Yes, we’ve seen the combination of live action with virtual backgrounds i.e. MARY POPPINS (remember the dancing penguin scene??). O.K., maybe that’s not such a good reference, but SKY CAPTAIN and SIN CITY are good examples of this “new type” of genre we’re beginning to see. The thing is, 300 takes it to a whole new level. I was totally immersed in the seamless world which they created. In fact, they might as well just take all of Frank Miller’s graphic novels and make them into movies at this point. This guy has such a unique and original vision that he’s breathing fresh air into cool movies coming out today! And oh yeah, did I mention…go see this movie!

Gerard Butler plays the main man King Leonidas. Wow! This role is going to catapult this guy’s career! If all coaches for team sports were like this dude…everybody would win! His determination, his loyalty to his country and to his men was inspiring to watch. Butler played the perfect King! Cooler than William Wallace and Maximus put together! There, I said it! The rest of the cast was equally great! All the Spartan soldiers deserve some sort of medal for the most “fit” people in a movie…ever. It almost looked fake, but it wasn’t! They were all fit to the bone, even the older characters!

The real highlights were the big battles and visuals though. The battle scenes were epic! Zack Snyder creates something very special when filming action sequences, which I haven’t experienced since THE MATRIX. It’s so simple, and yet, so perfect. Forget bullet-time effects, this is something completely different and cooler! We’re used to seeing action start off in slow-motion and then speed up to either mask an effect or whatever, but here Snyder does the opposite and you, the viewer, get to see everything in one shot, up close and personal! We’re talking limbs and heads flying off and these crazy close-ups of a blade just scratching the surface of a helmet with sparks flying. It was brutal, very explicit and every fanboy’s dream! It was just awesome! 300, in my humble opinion, has the best choreographed battle sequences to ever hit the big screen! Am I selling this film to you at all? Hehehe…

Finally, the background shots were spectacular even though you knew they were all done in CGI. But that didn’t matter because they integrated so well with the whole stylish look of the film with its warm brown colors. Even some of the key shots felt like stills out of a painting. Wow.

So should you go see this movie?!? This is one of those rare films for which the trailer gets you jacked up for the release and then when you do go see it, the movie surpasses even those expectations and blows you away!! Fanboys, the sci-fi geeks, the fantasy guys, the comic book nerds and I think even “regular folk” will enjoy this! Pay full price, wait in line, bring a date, go alone if you have to and buy some damn popcorn because this movie is worth every penny spent. And just in case I’m not expressing myself clearly enough: I loved this movie!

— by Tim
Goernert