Movie Review: 300
It seems we're getting swamped with comic book movies these days. Whether that's a good or a bad thing, I'll leave for someone else to debate some other time, but what is undeniable is that the quality of these films varies wildly. For every Spider-Man, there is a Ghost Rider; for every Batman Begins a Catwoman; for every X-Men there is an X-Men 3.
But one thing I'll be willing to debate anyone on -- so far, when they've tried to put the work of Frank Miller on the screen, they've done it right. 300 joins Sin City and Batman Begins (considering how many elements were lifted from Year One, I count it as a Miller film) as being some of the best movies ever made based on a comic book.
The story of 300, actually, has much of its basis in historical fact. Xerxes, ruler of a rapidly-expanding Persian empire, sends an envoy to King Leonidas of Sparta, informing him that he will allow him to live for the simple price of submission to his conquest. Leonidas (Gerard Butler) refuses in a rather spectacular fashion, and requests permission from an Oracle to take his men to war. Denied permission by Spartan law, he instead chooses 300 men as his "personal bodyguards" and leads them to a narrow passageway through the cliffs to the north of the city/state. There, the 300 will make their stand against Xerxes' army of over a million warriors, sorcerers and monsters.
The film is absolutely mesmerizing. Gerard Butler's Leonidas is one of the all-time great movie warriors -- by the time the movie ends the audience is ready to follow him to the death as well as his troops -- and he is surrounded by a very strong supporting cast. But let's face it, the battles are what matter, and they score on every possible level. They're raw, energetic, exciting and bloody -- not as over-the-top bloody as Kill Bill, but just enough to convey a sense of realism despite the movie's garish visuals. The battle sequences frequently shift between rapid action to slow motion scenes, a technique that almost perfectly evokes the pacing of the comic book.
Like Miller and Robert Rodriguez did with Sin City, director Zack Snyder goes to great lengths to emulate the visuals of the graphic novel. The characters (particularly those in prosthetic makeup) look exactly like the characters in the book, and many scenes are replicated not only word-for-word, but panel-for-panel. It's quite appropriate that Lynn Varley is credited as co-creator fo the comic book. This may be the first time a comic to film adaptation has ever been significantly impacted by the work of the colorist.
The only parts of the film that drag are, no coincidentally, the parts added to the script and not included in the original story: specifically a subplot about Leionidas's queen attempting to win reinforcements for her husband over the wishes of a corrupt, treacherous senator. Although some of the scenes disrupt the pacing, Lena Heady's performance as Queen Gorgo is magnificent, painting her neither as a quivering damsel in distress nor as a hard-nosed, broken war widow, but instead as a strong, brave woman fighting as best she can not only for her husband, but for king and country as well.
Some have tried to draw parallels between this film and the current political situation in the United States, but I think this is a mistake. One could easily argue the film as propaganda for either side of the aisle, and those arguments could just as easily be punched full of holes. The film is best viewed as simple what it is: a story of the power of courage and determination, of strength against overwhelming odds, and the uncanny ability of brave men taking a stand for all they hold dear. This was the Alamo before there was an Alamo, and it's really fantastic.
But one thing I'll be willing to debate anyone on -- so far, when they've tried to put the work of Frank Miller on the screen, they've done it right. 300 joins Sin City and Batman Begins (considering how many elements were lifted from Year One, I count it as a Miller film) as being some of the best movies ever made based on a comic book.
The story of 300, actually, has much of its basis in historical fact. Xerxes, ruler of a rapidly-expanding Persian empire, sends an envoy to King Leonidas of Sparta, informing him that he will allow him to live for the simple price of submission to his conquest. Leonidas (Gerard Butler) refuses in a rather spectacular fashion, and requests permission from an Oracle to take his men to war. Denied permission by Spartan law, he instead chooses 300 men as his "personal bodyguards" and leads them to a narrow passageway through the cliffs to the north of the city/state. There, the 300 will make their stand against Xerxes' army of over a million warriors, sorcerers and monsters.
The film is absolutely mesmerizing. Gerard Butler's Leonidas is one of the all-time great movie warriors -- by the time the movie ends the audience is ready to follow him to the death as well as his troops -- and he is surrounded by a very strong supporting cast. But let's face it, the battles are what matter, and they score on every possible level. They're raw, energetic, exciting and bloody -- not as over-the-top bloody as Kill Bill, but just enough to convey a sense of realism despite the movie's garish visuals. The battle sequences frequently shift between rapid action to slow motion scenes, a technique that almost perfectly evokes the pacing of the comic book.
Like Miller and Robert Rodriguez did with Sin City, director Zack Snyder goes to great lengths to emulate the visuals of the graphic novel. The characters (particularly those in prosthetic makeup) look exactly like the characters in the book, and many scenes are replicated not only word-for-word, but panel-for-panel. It's quite appropriate that Lynn Varley is credited as co-creator fo the comic book. This may be the first time a comic to film adaptation has ever been significantly impacted by the work of the colorist.
The only parts of the film that drag are, no coincidentally, the parts added to the script and not included in the original story: specifically a subplot about Leionidas's queen attempting to win reinforcements for her husband over the wishes of a corrupt, treacherous senator. Although some of the scenes disrupt the pacing, Lena Heady's performance as Queen Gorgo is magnificent, painting her neither as a quivering damsel in distress nor as a hard-nosed, broken war widow, but instead as a strong, brave woman fighting as best she can not only for her husband, but for king and country as well.
Some have tried to draw parallels between this film and the current political situation in the United States, but I think this is a mistake. One could easily argue the film as propaganda for either side of the aisle, and those arguments could just as easily be punched full of holes. The film is best viewed as simple what it is: a story of the power of courage and determination, of strength against overwhelming odds, and the uncanny ability of brave men taking a stand for all they hold dear. This was the Alamo before there was an Alamo, and it's really fantastic.