Holy buckets of blood, Batman!!!
So after a haircut (layers again! Whooo!!!!) and some chai and a wrap, I went down to my local cinema to see 300 by myself (because Gods know that there are no girls around me at the moment who would call that movie a fun time, but we all know how weird I am).
I really wasn't sure what to expect. I knew it wouldn't be really historically accurate at all, and I haven't read the graphic novel completely, though I have flipped through. Really, I was just getting damn tired of how CUTE the movies get in spring, and I needed something that was a little rougher for a day.
Erm... whoa?
No, it wasn't really accurate. Imagine Sin City set in ancient Greece with epic battle scenes, minus the noir-ish feel. In some circles it will be considered offensive, as it made the Persians an amalgamation of every eastern and African source they could find (I was actually very amused to see one of the few strictly Persian references among King Xerxes' forces were gold rehashes of Darius' victory pillars on either side of Xerxes' throne. I'd offer a picture, since I took several of the real thing, but they are unfortunately on my mom's camera back home and they haven't sent me ANY pictures yet). And the film was a fucking bloodbath. Make no mistake about that when you go; don't eat beforehand, you will not be happy you did.
However, visually this film is stunning in the extreme. An no, I'm not just referring to the half-naked warring men and half-naked writhing women everywhere. The thing was filmed like you are watching a graphic novel. That's the only way I can explain it. The battles don't go at breakneck speed the way most epics do lately, but rather they are practically rendered in slow motion to give you freeze-frames of key or shocking moments. The result is something artistically beautiful, in my opinion.
And Gerard Butler delivers an outstanding performance as King Leonidas. His supporting cast is lovely, but he owns that screen for two hours.
Go see it if you can stomach it. If not... well, I can't fault you for that. XD Maybe wait until it's out on DVD so it won't have the same impact?
I really wasn't sure what to expect. I knew it wouldn't be really historically accurate at all, and I haven't read the graphic novel completely, though I have flipped through. Really, I was just getting damn tired of how CUTE the movies get in spring, and I needed something that was a little rougher for a day.
Erm... whoa?
No, it wasn't really accurate. Imagine Sin City set in ancient Greece with epic battle scenes, minus the noir-ish feel. In some circles it will be considered offensive, as it made the Persians an amalgamation of every eastern and African source they could find (I was actually very amused to see one of the few strictly Persian references among King Xerxes' forces were gold rehashes of Darius' victory pillars on either side of Xerxes' throne. I'd offer a picture, since I took several of the real thing, but they are unfortunately on my mom's camera back home and they haven't sent me ANY pictures yet). And the film was a fucking bloodbath. Make no mistake about that when you go; don't eat beforehand, you will not be happy you did.
However, visually this film is stunning in the extreme. An no, I'm not just referring to the half-naked warring men and half-naked writhing women everywhere. The thing was filmed like you are watching a graphic novel. That's the only way I can explain it. The battles don't go at breakneck speed the way most epics do lately, but rather they are practically rendered in slow motion to give you freeze-frames of key or shocking moments. The result is something artistically beautiful, in my opinion.
And Gerard Butler delivers an outstanding performance as King Leonidas. His supporting cast is lovely, but he owns that screen for two hours.
Go see it if you can stomach it. If not... well, I can't fault you for that. XD Maybe wait until it's out on DVD so it won't have the same impact?