Review of 300 (2007) by David L — 11 Nov 2014

What's all the fuss about? Another gladiatorial style film pitting a small Spartan army taking on thousands of Persians. Despite having moments of graphic battle, this just feels somewhat rushed, like there's a huge subsection missing.

We do skip through what seems a short prologue, introducing the title character as a fully fledged adult and king, with the main villain just showing face at random cameos throughout the movie. At times, it just felt like a mini battle followed by a little dialogue, then followed by more little battles, and a bit of character banter again.

There were no links between scenes, nothing to grip the audience, and certainly no climatic ending. At no stage did I feel engaged with the cast, it was more like watching a he-man cartoon than a credible portrayal of history.

I must emphasise that I really don't understand what all the fuss was about here. I would have wanted to see the badass Persian king engrossed in combat, proving he is to be feared, but he just stood there blinged up claiming to be god.

He was like an Essex Diva than a fearsome foe. The Spartan Kings wife was also playing a relatively inappropriate part, sending an army out once it was too late, and getting raped in the process - I mean what was the point?! It had pieces that individually could be good, and the acting was fine, but they somehow didn't link into creating a memorable film for me.

I'd be interested in seeing the sequel to see if it makes more sense, and to see if I could keep awake for the duration.