Review of 300 (2007) by Harry G — 13 Mar 2014

Nowadays we get a lot of movies that remind us that war is terrible and that ultimately, it is just an exercise in futility. Not Zack Snyder's "300" though. This film, based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley tells us that war is awesome and that there is no greater glory than to die on the battlefield, waist-deep in the blood and severed limbs of your fallen opponents. The story begins in 480 B.C., in tiny Greece, the birthplace of democracy and the one true example of freedom and justice is the Sparta, the city where the world's greatest warriors are not trained, they're bred. Witness the glory of ancient Greece's Sparta; where children are taken from their mothers and turned into ruthless warriors, where women are just as tough as men, where there is no greater glory than to die on the battlefield, and anyone who thinks otherwise is a spineless coward. The people of Sparta are proud and arrogant, but skilled tacticians and warriors. It's no surprise then, that when the "god-King" Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) approaches the king of Sparta, Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and demands his surrender, the Greek lord refuses. Forbidden to wage war because of ancient traditions, Leonidas leads a small regiment of 300 "bodyguards" to a strategic location where they stand a chance against the army of Xerxes, who brings with him innumerable soldiers.

People criticize this movie for all kinds reasons, some of which legitimate, some of which I say are uncalled for because they're intentional. The lack of historical accuracy, the cartoonish characters, the demonization of the Persian people are put in the film because of the context in which the story is told. This film is based on a graphic novel, inspired by another movie, based on a monument, which is itself a replacement for an even older moment, written by the victors of an epic battle. On top of that, the story, within itself is told from the viewpoint of a storyteller who saw firsthand the vicious battles and is now informing the audience (within the film and in the theatre) of the glory of Sparta, of the 300 and of Leonidas to encourage them to fight. The heroic Leonidas is depicted as a master tactician, a ruthless warrior, a gentle father and a loving husband. He is capable of scaling cliffs with only his bare hands and sandals, capable of single-handedly butchering hundreds of Persian warriors and answers to no one, while still remaining within the constraints of the sacred laws of his country. Who is he opposed against? Xerxes, the complete opposite. Xerxes is a man who forcefully distances himself from the rest of the people by clothing himself in gold and proclaiming himself a god. Xerxes is a tyrant, looking to burn tiny Greece to the ground with an army of slaves he sends into battle by force or fear. The warriors Xerxes sends are either amateurish brawlers, reliant on mysticism and "cowardly tactics" (like using projectile weapons) or grotesque monstrosities, raised out of hell to combat against their noble opponents. In fact, anyone who opposes Leonidas, his wife Queen Gorgo (Leana Heady) or the noble Spartans are all the most obvious, slimy and disgusting villains you will see on screen. There is little subtlety in this film, but it's a piece of ancient propaganda, what else do you expect? The characters are either developed only at the barest minimum or painted with the broadest strokes. The good guys are good and can only do wrong when their actions would serve the plot, while the villains are truly despicable.

This movie bears only the faintest bit of historical accuracy. Think of the film more like the battle between the noble people of Rohan and the fearsome Uruk-hai in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" than something out of a museum. This is historical fantasy, a violent exercise in masculinity that screams "War is awesome!" So, on that note, where does it stand? Well visually, the film is really spectacular. Every shot in the film has been enhanced to show off the earthy tones of stones and fields or the gushing blood as it is spilled. During nightime, the moon is enormous, filling half the sky so that we can have Leonidas dramatically poses in front of it as he reflects on the battle to come. When it rains, there is always clapping thunder and crackling lightning to show that even while his other warriors cheer, King Leonidas keeps his mind focussed on the war to come. There are always dramatic shadows and loving shots of the characters in action so that the audience can see all of their epic battle moves. The film uses tons of visual effects and it shows. Even if you're not familiar with the colour theory at work here, with the denaturisation of some scenes and the different tints and uses of contrast to create moods, it's still impressive. Often, the battle scenes are in slow motion, lavishly displaying limbs being hacked off, Persians being skewered and crimson splashes of blood flying at the camera. The choreography is excellent and the camera catches every bit of wanton violence. The film is extremely gratuitous in its violence and even in its few moments of sex.

This is a man's movie and it takes itself dead serious, sometimes to a fault. There are some moments where Leonidas and the other Spartans crack jokes, but this is a movie that is actually kind of silly. It's just so over-the-top that I find it hard to understand why people get upset over it. I mean sure the Persians depicted in the film employ grotesque ogres, fanged ninja warriors and a slew of deformed or simply bizarre concubines in order to satisfy any and every perverse fantasy Xerxes, but the Greeks aren't that much better. The Greek villains are shown as cowardly or just as despicable as the Persian generals and our heroes are so arrogant that they come off more as bullies than heroes and it's only because we are naturally drawn to the underdog that we actually end up cheering for them. I don't want to spoil the developments towards the end, but really take a look at the villainous Greeks and tell me if they are not just as vile as the Persians. Anyone who isn't Leonidas and his 300 Spartans are simply the worst people ever. Even the other Greeks who join them in their fight end up looking like real amateurs when it comes to the combat and are frequently made fun of. Once again, this film wants you to believe that Spartans are awesome and anyone else is else going to end up on the wrong end of their spear of quietly awing them in the distance. That's what it wants to do, that's what it does.

When I first saw this film, I was 19 years old and it blew my teenage mind. This was everything I wanted because you know what? It HAD dawned on me that in a world where anyone can just pick up a gun, point and pull a trigger, that war just isn't what it used to be, when good guys were noble and the villains were invading barbarians bent on razing temples to the ground and pillaging noble examples of classic architecture. Wouldn't it be much better if we could all go back to the days where you had to thrust a sword into somebody's gut and watch their life slowly drain from their eyes, rather than just press buttons on a computer and watch monitors tell us that the targets were dead? This was exactly what I wanted; a hardcore, live-action cartoon where the bad guys were monsters and the good guys cut them into tiny pieces, despite overwhelming odds. Now that I've "matured" a bit and that some of the razamataz of the storyline has faded, I admit that the movie really could have used stronger characters and a deeper plot. I liked the fact that Queen Gorgo gets more screen time and they show what was going on in the city politics while Leonidas is out (something that is not in the original graphic novel). I also thought that while the character development of Leonidas and some of the more stand-out Spartans was small, it did get me to actually like them. I did wish there was more, but I was shocked to see that this movie was already 2 hrs long considering the thin plot so I guess there just wasn't much room for that. Despite the story that can be summarized in just a few sentences, the movie has many memorable moments and lines (probably the most iconic being near the beginning with the "pit of doom") and the film is so visually striking that it really sticks with you once it's over. This is not a great film, but it is a stylish film that manages to wrap you up and get really excited. It has a set of goals it wants to accomplish and because it doles exactly what it wants and because this is one of those movies that will be remembered for a long time, I am awarding it a 4 / 5. If you want a film that's ridiculously violent, bloody, filled with shinning heroes, despicable villains and so manly it almost becomes homo-erotic at times, there's nothing that can beat "300". (On Blu-ray, March 9, 2014).