Get thee to a theater...and see 300...: shrinetolust

shrinetolust

Get thee to a theater...and see 300...

Mar 15, 2007 00:13

Um...wow. I realize we're a bit behind the 70 million dollars worth of viewers who packed the theaters this weekend to see 300. I wasn't actually sure I was going to see this one, since Sin City hadn't exactly won my heart and the reviews were a mixed bag. The movie looked pretty awesome in previews and you know, as perseph2hades pointed out, there's always Gerard Butler's thighs to consider. *wibble*

Gerard and David and the squeeing of my fellow LJ'ers convinced me to take the plunge. And I must say firstly, just to get the pervy out of the way: There's no explaining the real power of Gerard's thighs until you've seen the film. Whatever you're imagining? You're not nearly there. You will essplode from the lust. And Michael Fassbender (see above)? Oh my. You must peek under the lj-cut for elaboration on that. And yes, there is so much beautiful manflesh, bulging biceps and throbbing thighs and taut arses. Pretty boys and manly men. And a teensy, delicately applied dose of slashy hints. Thank you very much.

This of course, was expected. What was NOT expected was how caught up I got and how hard this movie hit me. You get wound up in the story of these men, these 300 men who faced impossible odds, and you're there on the ground with them, day by day and it's exhiliarating one minute and horrifying the next. You also get drawn in by the Queen, as she does what she can against her own perils. When the movie was over, I felt a bit drained. And then we stepped outside and I started to tear up, out of nowhere. It just got to me, which was so unexpected since it's supposed to just be this manly testosterone-filled violent thrillride, and yet when all was said and done I felt like I'd reached a place of real empathy with these characters, with the fear and bravery and hope and glory and camaraderie and sacrifice. It's funny because Perseph just did a post questioning the need for exact historical facts when doing a film. For me, what makes a film amazing is when it can combine fact with myth and some fictional storytelling and bring the audience closer to real understanding than any book full of dates and facts ever could. For me, that's what this film did.

I suppose it goes without saying, but the visuals are stunning. I've seen it compared to a video game but I didn't really feel that...to me it was more like an oil painting come to life. No screenshot can really capture how it flows, like the artist's brush across a canvas. The battle scenes are violent and at times quite graphic, yet it's filmed almost poetically, and there are moments when you get to glory in every ripple of muscle and ever swing of the sword...it's fantastic. And then it goes in close and it's terrifyingly real and you're clenching the arms of your chair and holding your breath. I hadn't expected to be so caught up in those sequences but I was.

The movie is not perfect. Once again the gratuitous woman-as-caricatured-object was faintly ridiculous, and the love scene in the movie didn't really do anything for me. I don't understand how they can make the battle sequences erotically charged and yet the supposedly erotic scenes are kind of awkward. Leonidas running his hand lovingly over Gorgo's face held more spark than the supposedly titillating harem scene. Bleh. Anyway. The Persians were also not terribly well developed...more like mythical, occasionally camp comic book villians. Which is absolutely fine and kinda fun, but sometimes the movie was so much more than a graphic novel and so it felt a bit like it should have been richer all around.

That aside, Gerard Butler was amazing. (I was faintly amused by Gerard's accent, which was a bit like a Greek guy from da neighborhood, if ya know what I mean..heh...but honestly, who the hell knows what they sounded like back then so I'm willing to go with it.) I realize I'm having difficulty explaining this movie's charms because it's so unlike anything else. Gerard's character was so much larger than life...and he was so powerful and brash and cocky and pumping with testosterone...and yet there was always something in his eyes hinting at more underneath the surface. He was such a presence...you can't take your eyes off of him.

David Wenham needs to be snogged relentlessly. He's absolutely brilliant. There are not many men that can carry off line after line of grandiose epic dialogue and not sound silly...David just nailed every single passage. He and Gerard just sell this story with every fiber of their being. David was so very different than anything I've ever seen him in, so rough around the edges and earnestly loyal...with such fire in his eyes. Good on ya, Dave. *luffs*

Lena Headey was really really good, giving her character great nobility and sensuality and strength. She helped save the female aspects of the movie for me and had me pumping my fist with glee at one point. Dominic West was suitably slimy, and Rodrigo was sensationally swishy...lol. Every actor committed to this thing totally, and it was just a fantastic cast.

And some of the lines in this...oh man, the fabulous, cocky snarkiness of it all. There will be much quoting, oh yes. Well, that should be enough babble from me, yes? Feel free to leave spoilery comments if you like, just mark them as such. I'm very interested to hear from those of you who saw it!!

A behind the scenes photo, but it gives you the idea. No thighs, but...fsandfnjgngnnghhhhhh@$%^&ll!!

Michael Fassbender, a Band of Brothers alumnus, has broken me just a little bit...because...you know...

dljsglf;jsdflsangngnghnnnhhhhh!!

Dilios, aka David Wenham, pumped up and ready to kick it Spartan style...rowrrr...!

King Leonidas, with his wife and son...

The battle strategies and power of the Spartan soldiers was a thing of beauty...

Yes, there were slashy undertones...or overtones...*snerk*

Xerxes, in all his chain-draped glory...*eep*

Leonidas with his wife...

Queen Gorgo and her son, in a scene from Gladiator...erm, I mean, 300... *G*

Normally, a man in costume out of his fantasy element and w/o the benefit of film tinkering often looks foolish.

Gerard does not look foolish. *meep*