Review of 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) by Uncle E — 22 Aug 2014

300 was masterclass. Rise of an Empire is much like it but doesn't reach the heights its predecessor scaled. This in addition to the fact that 300 was not in 3D. Rise of an Empire is a fictionalized account of Themistokles and his Athenian Naval resistance against the invading Persians.

Set parallel to the timeline in 300, I liked how the director has told this story in an interesting way with more emotion, character and better story telling than 300 and at the same time establishing a perfect link between the two films.

While all this is fine and the CGI which matches up to the last film; Sullivan Stapleton is a step down from Gerard Butler's Leonidas but the film gives a new villain to vie for: Artemisia devilishly and seductively played by Eva Green.

Xerxes (Santoro) gets sidelined by Eva Green's Artemisia but will probably play a part in the next film which is almost definitely on the cards. The film however lacks the originality of the first one and the style with which it was executed.

Also missing are some memorable dialogues. The action sequences though crafted as well as 300 leave you blood splattered what with the director's obsessive compulsive urge to splash blood in 3D. It gets annoying in the first frame itself and reminds you of Spartacus! However even with these flaws Rise of an Empire is a very watchable film driven by strong action and performances by Eva Green and Lena Headey.