Review of 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) by Foxgrove — 07 Mar 2014

This visual and stylistic exercise in blood letting turns out to be not quite as good as the original 300. Some concise narration at the beginning sets the scene, but the story matters little. Basically this is the formula as before, the main difference being that most of the battles here take place on the sea rather than on land. Production Design vies with CGI for attention and continues to blur the line between these two crafts. Likewise, the somewhat bombastic score competes with Dolby sound. The one thing of which the film cannot be accused is to not have used all the technologies at its disposal. Viewed in an IMAX format and in 3D (D Box was also an additional option) the film is certainly a feast for the eye and ear. The speed ramping gimmick is again employed to enhance the dubious enjoyment of torn flesh, severed limbs and lashings of blood flying off the screen. One thing is for sure, subtlety was obviously not discovered in THIS century.

Acting wise, Eva Green steals the film and she has an erotically charged scene of sexual power play with leading man Sullivan Stapleton (Strike Back) which is also as camp as Christmas. The combination is somewhat disconcerting, not to mention rather funny.

For all its faults, though, there can be no denying that this is a visually stunning achievement. A short underwater dream sequence also impresses as, in fact, do all the under water shots. However, like its predecessor, an inevitable repetitiveness allows one to become anaesthetised to events which by turn become ever so slightly monotonous.