Review of 300: Rise of an Empire (2014) by Buddah — 08 Mar 2014

Meh is how best to describe this sequel. I saw the Double Feature of the two 300 movies on Thursday evening, and I was left wanting. Being a big fan of the 1st movie, I went in with little expectations to return this obvious money making opportunity into a worthy sequel. They did try to capitalize on 2 of the best features of the first movie, which was war strategy with amazing looking graphics. The first movie was battle on land, and the sequel is on water. What it fails to bring back was good characters to root for.

SPOILER:

There is an odd aggressive sex scene with our hero and the evil warrioress of the sea, and it makes little sense. Even if she is quite sexy, and I did not balk at seeing more of her, it seemed to be added to appease a portion of the audience who needed a break from the violence and bad character development. The hero was just not the same after that, and how could you as a movie goer want to root for his success after succumbing to his pent-up prostate? Sure he has had dating problems, but he decided to marry Greece and as soon as someone flashes a leg, our hero decides to be unfaithful to his motherland? Come on Dude!

The rest of the movie tried to overcome the messy script with memorable fight scenes, Unfortunately for me, I just watched the 1st movie back to back, and there was little original in the 2nd movie to allow me to enjoy it fully. It isn't a bad movie, it just lacks that emotional connection we need with the characters, and that ultimately is the flaw. Even though the fights were the same, it is the slow-motion sequence of the fights and the over the top speeches that made you enjoy the first 300 movie. If you want more of that, then unplug your brain for 2 hours and enjoy.