Review of 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) by Frederic C. B — 01 Jul 2015

The Good:

Decent action scenes, obviously choreographed for 3D viewing. Eva Green bites, chews, and steals every scene she's in as the deadly merciless beauty and seductive Artemisia. Her on-screen chemistry with Sullivan Stapleton is a highlight of the movie. We have an actual explanation or backstory to Xerxes, that allows Rodrigo Santoro to show up without his usual CG makeup, even for a brief moment. It's nice to include scenes from the first movie that shows its main characters, and also, Lena Headey's Gorgo is far more stronger than in the prequel.

The Not-so-Good:

This prequel/sequel or more fittingly spin-off feels completely unnecessary. Themistokles doesn't have the charisma of Leonidas, so as a lead he never really commands the movie. The story drags and the plot feels dull, and despite its attempt to capture the glory and artistic style of the first movie, it only succeeds very moderately. It's hard to root for the protagonists when the outcome is highly predictable, not to mention the completely underwhelming ending. The naval sequences are a nice change of pace to differentiate itself from the first movie, but unfortunately they are dull and highly nauseating to watch. The slow motion actions immediately become a distracting and grating experience, rather than theatrical. When an intimate scene between opposing characters becomes the most interesting twist of an action movie, that speaks a lot of its uneven quality.