300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE has the difficult time of following the Zack Snyder hit while also not being derivative of the filmmaker’s style. One of Snyder’s trademarks was the ramp up to slow motion which gave the first 300 a distinct visual look. But, in the years since it was released it seems that every filmmaker has used the trick to the point of wearing out it’s welcome. Now, with the sequel hitting theaters without star Gerard Butler, can it deliver the same goods?
This third trailer for 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE takes the best elements from the first two trailers and combines it with the perfect lyrics of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs”. We get glimpses at Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) both pre and post-God makeover, Eva Green spouting threats at the Greeks, Lena Headey going to war, and Sullivan Stapleton bringing it all together. Plus a lot of slow motion. No, seriously, I mean a lot. It almost looks like 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE was filmed exclusively at quarter speed.
Based on Frank Miller’s latest graphic novel Xerxes and told in the breathtaking visual style of the blockbuster “300,” this new chapter of the epic saga takes the action to a fresh battlefield—on the sea—as Greek general Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war. “300: Rise of an Empire” pits Themistokles against the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), and Artemisia (Eva Green), vengeful commander of the Persian navy.
I’ll reserve judgement on 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE until I have seen it, but this trailer definitely gets the blood pumping with some excellent battle sequences. Eva Green has always been a personal favorite of mine, but the over-abundance of the slow motion in this trailer worries me that director Noam Murro is trying to copy Zack Snyder instead of tell a new story on the merits of the screenplay.
300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE hits theaters on March 7, 2014