300 - the movie
 

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Shameless fanboy alert
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If it has to do with Frank Miller I'm in love with it. If it has to do with the Battle of Thermopylae, I'm in love with it.

So when I saw this,
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/300...er1/large.html

I developed a geek-boner of gigantic proportions and splooged all over myself.

This movie is going to kick 18 shades of ass. Read the comic now. Then watch the movie. Looks like they are keeping the movie true to the look and feel of the book.

Jesus. I just splooged again. Gotta go clean up now.

Bye.

Two worries:
- Another chliché war movie? Hope not.
- Hopefully there's more substance than visual effects, slow motion, and artistic scenery.

Aside from that, it looks promising. Frank Miller definitely has a distinct style which suits the the visual exaggeration in comics/graphic novels very well. A stlye I like. Kudos to Frank Miller.

I look foward to it.


Edit: Anyone else think the lead's shouting was kind of funny in its similarity?

That LOOKS amazing. I agree in hoping that the story and the acting match the visuals.

I have it on hold at the local library. I should have it in my hands in a matter of hours.

When I saw the featurettes, I was already sold on the movie... and then I saw the trailer...

You could do worse than actually read Book 7 of Herodotus if you're interested in primary sources.

Stephen Pressfield also wrote a relatively popular "historical fiction" book on this same topic called, I believe, the Gates of Fire.

Trailer looks pretty good.

I'm more an ancient history geek than a comic geek, but I'm looking forward to this. But I don't get to go to the movies any more... :(


Mr Mephisto

This looks very good, hope this is one film that actually lives up to the trailer

I like the sepia tint ;p

but yeah, looks like a good movie.

http://playlist.yahoo.com/makeplayli...tw=480&qth=300

New trailer.

I am SO going to see this movie.

Looks awesome. I just saw the graphic novel at the book store today too...

I agree I cant wait for this. I love Frank Miller's work. I was just made aware of it by a friend a couple weeks ago. I plan to read it first. My friends are passing it around and its my turn to read it next.

And what was it about the grapgics? like everything but the people is computer generated.

*jaw drops*

I've always loved the Battle of Thermopylae. Not a big Miller fan but this looks very good. Can't wait!!

i read the comic books up to #4 just to keep the suspense till the movie gets here. and if they keep the comic book feel, then it'll be awesome!

I don't know. I LOVED Sin City, but this seems kind of weird. I've seen all the trailers, and it looks like it may be suffering from Casshern Syndrome. Casshern was a movie that came out a while back that had astounding, AMAZING visuals and the trailer was one of the best ever made. And the trailer was better than the movie itself. The entire movie concentrated on a slick, visual appealing look - and has better style and graphics than many movies today. And it sucked. http://www.apple.com/jp/quicktime/tr...ern_large.html

ha! i know i saw the movie too. but this wouldnt be miller's 1st movie. After sin city, i know that he can produce some awesome stuff - even if Rodrigez(?) was the director.

i'll keep my hopes up for a good movie this spring since theres nothing too good comming up anyways.

Sin City-The Movie was almost a frame-for-frame recreation of Sin City-The Graphic Novel, so if Miller sticks to his guns and gets the same amount of input into this movie, I think it'll be alright.

I am all about this movie. Did greek history this semester.

Great story... the trailor looks good too.

I never knew the Ancient Spartans all had access to sterroids and personal trainers... I know, I know... let it go.

This does look like what my family calls a "Bobby Movie," which is a good thing... a big epic with all kinds of fights, action and heroics. We miss you Bobby, we'll go see it for you.

I only saw a trailer on tv a couple days ago, but it looks really interesting. Can't wait for it to come out.

Just got back from the theater. This review sums up the movie better than I EVER could!

-Mav

The highlighted area of that review tells me that everything I hoped and dreamed of will come to delightful fruition. My girlfriend got free passes to see it, so we're going to roll out tomorrow and eat it up.

I've been waiting anxiously for this movie. I don't know whetehr to see this first, or Zodiac.

It's quite simply Miller at his best. I was skeptical before Sin City, but with 300 I am not surprised to see a GOOD silver screen interpretation of a graphic novel. So long as you don't mind a scottish brogue on a greek hero, you'll be impressed.

I'm seeing this tomorrow. Cannot wait.

We're just back from it.

It's gorgeous. The look and feel is drawn directly from the graphic novel (a la Sin City). There are plenty of literal visual quotes. The battles are incredible. In large part it's extremely faithful to the original.

There's also this tacked on subplot of politics and intrigue back home in Sparta that, frankly, sucked. You could SO tell when the dialog was Miller and when it was Somebody Else. And, in a bizarre act of narrative suicide, the way that subplot got resolved eliminated the necessity of the ending of the main plot.

(Edit: When I say "tacked on", I mean "does not appear in the graphic novel".)

Seeing it tomorrow in IMAX - reviews to come!!

i just found out about this movie (not having a tv or care about hollywood a lot) but man, I have to see this movie. It's eating at me.... tomorrow I think I'm gonna have to make this work somehow

I just got back from it.... I don't go to movies to pay to watch for over 2 years now (I get to go to screeners most the time)

I enjoyed it.


Visually stunning, very gory, very stimulating, very much like watching a comic book. excellent.

I didnt want to check this thread at first, but then I realized the story has been told a million times, and hopefully the movie is all about great cinematography, the coolest special effects, and superb acting....I Hope!!!!!! Can Not Wait To See It!!!!

Fantastic movie! After watching it, I feel like fighting!

I want to see this movie really bad but I don't think my wife would like it. My son would like it but I'm sure its too violent for an 11 year old. I don't want to wait for the DVD cause I'm guessing its one of those movies better in a theatre. What do I do!?!?!?!?!

Go to the theater alone? It's one of those movies that you have to watch with the full theater because some moments will have you want to yell at the screen which will be picked up by the rest.

The above according to about 7 people I know who have seen it yesterday. I'm seeing it with a friend tonight at 6:15 downtown Chicago. You know it's going to be packed! Got the tickets pre-ordered.

i went last night, it is simply one of the best action flicks i've seen in a long time. Gory, brutal, everything i love about ancient wars.


a must see for 2007, probably a must own on dvd as well

I went and saw it last night, and I enjoyed it very much. It was somehow less violent than I expected it to be. I had read some reviews that said the violence was really over-the-top. Certainly, some of the violence was particularly gory, but it seemed to be gory in an artful way.

Overall, it was a beautiful movie, Gerard Butler was wonderful, and I would recommend it. And ladies, the Spartan army is breathtaking.

Time to swim against the tide:

300 was dull. It was ridiculous. I was not interested in what was happening. The visual shots are just like the Spartans themselves -- the same thing, over and over. The audience laughed several times at things that were not meant to be funny. There were interesting aspects and scenes, but on the whole this movie only works as a trailer.

I just wish they'd adapt The Dark Knight Returns.

I really didn't like the comic book that much. Not that I don't love Miller's storylines -I love them. I just hate his artwork. There's too much overkill on the use of ink.

I will probably see the movie. Hmmm. let me check my listings.

(Maveric, whoever wrote that review [you should give credit] should be dragged out and shot for their verbage.)

I just got back from seeing it on the IMAX. I enjoyed it immensely. I enjoyed it to the point where I feel like ramming a 10 foot pike down the throat of the next yuppie who feels like criticizing this movie for not having enough character or plot development. How moronic do you need to be to watch a movie like 300 (with all the hype, too) and EXPECT some sort of melodramatic oscar performance? This isn't a movie about King Leonidas. This isn't a movie about a long, drawn-out war. This is a movie about A BATTLE. A BATTLE! If you know that much, you get what you ask for and you get it good.

After watching it, I begin to wonder if the people criticizing the abundance of "flesh" might be the insecure type. What's the matter? Can't look at a beautifully shaped human body (much less a few dozen of them) on a movie screen without complaining? I gotta be honest... if all men in movies looked that good, I might have to add a point to my Kinsey scale rating. Though, to save me, the oracle girl was beautiful in her own special way. A great visual scene, that one.

Don't be bitching about character and plot development. To quote a review I saw on rotten tomatoes: You don't go to Hooters for the chicken wings, and you don't go to 300 for the plot intricacies.

By AMY BIANCOLLI
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

and it's Maveric (no K)...

-Mav

Changed it for you :p

Oh, and I have another word for those complaining about the realism: No.

Seriously, I feel like I shouldn't have to defend a movie that was adapted from a glorified, highly stylized COMIC BOOK. Apparently people didn't get that part. Besides, aren't we all a bit tired of real bad blood makeup? The 2D blood splatters are way cool in light of what could be some corny blood sprays. The exaggeration is what some people call "style" ... and style is usually accepted in something those same people call "art."

So we didn't like the unrealistic creatures and characters? Spoiler: Well let's not forget that this story was told as an account from someone who was personally picked by the King for his storytelling ability. How do you think he's going to describe elephants, rhinos and other foreign things (people who look different?) that he'd never seen before?

I know everyone's allowed to think what they want, but that doesn't mean they aren't being short-sighted for thinking it. Until someone digs up some expose about how this movie was supposed to be a slick political thriller with undertones of personal faith and ultimately a love story... please don't complain about the lack thereof. If you just paid $11 dollars thinking it was gonna be any more than what it was, you need to think more before spending your next buck.

:)

Of course, if you don't like it for what it really IS, then.. ok. Fine.

(Oh, and a little sub note... I know none of this criticism has taken place in this thread... I was just so taken aback by the opinions I've seen posted on the internet by viewers and critics. Don't you wish some people would just shut up and be entertained?)

This movie freakin' kicked all ass that it was ment to kick.

Serious the group of 6 of us all loved it.

Drawn in by the amazing art and style, the story told well, and it captivated us the whole time.

8.5/10 easy.

I just got in. I loved it, a very enjoyable movie. I went in with certain expectations and they were all met.... here they are

1 - Lots of interesting and different combat scenes - Check
2 - Yelling and Screaming - Check
3 - Some sort of Backstory back in Sparta that I don't think added anything yet gave us a break from all the action and didn't take away from the movie - Check
4 - Great special effects and shots
5 - Outstanding fight sequences check again.

No, ther wasn't much character development. We must understand that the points trying to get across were that these Spartans were warriors to the bone. They were born to fight and die for their country and that's the sort of people they were exactly, they were asked to fight for their King and they went with him and died with him.

I sort of didn't really want Farimir (yeah yeah) to live, I wanted him to die as well, it seemed a bit anticlimaxtic although he did go on to lead the Greek army to victory later so I can deal with that just fine. I was worried all the slo-mo would piss me off but I really thought it was perfect. I like how it seemed like watching a live graphic novel instead of a movie based on one.

All the freaks and creatures, I agree that this was told as if through the memories of a story teller, and in a lot of ways these Greeks would have nothing to base their perceptions of a charging rhyno or elephants off of except for exaggeration for the sake of boosting moral.

I'm looking forward to seeing this movie. It should be very visually entertaining. That said, I have to point out that "drawing a line in the sand for democracy" is a part of the summary description and, well, Sparta is anything but a good example of democratic ideals, let alone Sparta as seen in 300 :p

Yes. Most of the "slo mo" battle moments are literal visual quotes from the graphic novel.

I don't recall where I saw it... but someone was saying something about 300 having a political vibe.

quick google search gave me:

Yeah, its inevitable that people are going to make some connection between the movie and today's situation. That doesn't mean the director and writer ever meant it to be so.

Okay, but it's naive to release that film at the current time in history and not expect it to have resonances with the current situation. Especially the Gorgo-before-the-council speech, I was having a hard time not hearing that as right-wing posturing.

All films, books, art, all mediums reflect current situations in some capacity. Always. People just aren't smart enough to see the parallels on the surface, how long did it take people to realize the Star Trek Cold War similarities? I know that I was too young to understand it in the 70s, but in the 80s it became apparent to me.

Maybe my brain was turned off, but I didn't draw that connection. Hell, the Spartans can be seen as both "Iraqi insurgents" and "The Bush Administration" if you want to really break it down. On one front, they are holding off a horde of enemies, unrelenting on their own turf, and on the other front they are begging for reinforcements.

Whatever happened to going to movies, enjoying the fact that it was made for entertainment and not getting all political?

Its a 2 hour block where you are given the option to get away from real world issues and just relax your brain.

Gerard Butler talks about the costumes of "300" and training for his role as King Leonidas in the movie "300" in this interview video from the 2006 Comic Con.

http://movies.about.com/library/weekly/bl300butler1.htm

-Mav

Comparing ancient Spartans to anything in modern society other than the Nazis is quite pointless. The reason that the Nazis work well for a comparison is because they modelled parts of their military training on the Spartan society. (Not to mention the outright persecution/destruction of the Helites/Jews).

For one thing: a Spatan would be appalled by the inclusion of Women (and the exclusion of homosexuals) from our modern military.

That's just one thing. I encourage everyone to learn more about the Spartans and their militaristic society.

Morons!

I went to see it yesterday and I must say it was really good. The effects and visuals were amazing and the action scenes kicked large amounts of ass. It's a good action movie, but that's it. I would like it even more if it had a slightly more involving story. Yeah, shoot me.

I liked Sin City better though. I've seen that movie five times by now. I don't think I can watch 300 more than two or three. I'm going to see it again with my family (my grandpa will go nuts for the battle scenes) next week.

I thought the movie was simply amazing. I went with my girlfriend and my brother and we all agreed that it was one of the best movies that we had seen in a long time.

Bang.

its times like this I wish Oz wasn't so far behind - this doesn't open here until April 9, so I've got a few weeks to wait to see it. Bloody small economies :(

I feel like a crazy person but I think the movie had too much story and character development. I mean, they really nailed the concept of it as being an embellishment of the narrator but damnit, the tale is about a suicide mission by 300 one dimensional men. The queen and some jerkass were superfluous to the main draw of the film, which was a boat load of glorious hyperstylized violence. Also, I don't know if the film was pro-bush or anti-bush, all I know is it had a strong anti-xerxes agenda. Anything beyond this and I can only reason people are making things up.

I dunno - our theater was filled with people who cheered when SPOILER:Spoiler: the queen killed that mofo in council. It was involving enough... but not too much, for me. The action was freakin' awesome, honest to gods - I loved the style, the effects, the blood - not even that gory, really... And crap on a stick - the Spartans were a joy to behold in the battle - just gloriously beautifully hot. Yep. Mrowl.

I thought this review from aintitcool.com was pretty...informative about the movie.

Hah I love it, that review is great.

Ah yes, now I remember why I don't bother with aintitcool.com anymore. :rolleyes:

You don't like something about the review?

It's aggressively stupid?

Bingo. It's a funny read and all, but it's a prime example of why I don't get my reviews there anymore. I just can't relate. I don't demand that movies provide me with an orgiastic sensory rush like most of the posters there.

Call me a stick in the mud, but I won't be seeing 300 because I'm too jaded to sit through a balletic war movie.

Sense of humor deficiency?

If you take that review seriously, you probably need as much help as those who came into 300 and expected Shindler's List story.

It's just a guy who is really excited about and loved the movie.

The only place for movie reviews is rottentomatoes.com

Ha ha ha ha ha I haven't even seen the movie and I laughed out loud at that comic.

Great comic. I follow every Ctrl+Alt+Del update.

I think I have a good sense of humor and that aint it cool review was absolutely moronic.

So first we have a twit with a thesaurus assualting us with words even Hunter S Thompson wouldn't use, then we have a dipshit with as much charisma as a jagged shard of glass trying to get us all riled up by making the movie sound worse than a Steven Seagal flick.

Who wants to post the next "great" review?

I didn't read any reviews before seeing this movie because I figured that they'd be either really against it or really for it, which doesn't make for a good review. Apparently I was right but I found the aintitcool.com review to be amusing (though maybe not a good review techinically).

Anywho, I'm with JustJess. As a female, I loved the movie. As a war-type movie person, I also loved it. I think it's worth seeing at least once even if you don't think you'll like it because it has alot to offer. It looks like it did stick to the comic pretty well, especially in alot of the scenes. It looks like they took it directly from the drawings (which adds to the style very nicely).

I watched it and didn't have any thoughts of the current political situation, my boyfriend thought it was slightly homoerotic but that's about it. Let's remember that the comic is from the late 90's so I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's not supposed to be political. I think it's in the same realm as Troy and Gladiator as far as story goes (Gladiator was better though) but it's also got this great eyecatching style that is just awesome.

edit: This link shows screenshots side by side with the original comic. It shows what I was saying about the scenes being taken directly from the comic. http://www.solaceincinema.com/2006/1...en-comparison/

I just got back from it, and I thought it was phenomonal....

We learn several things throughout this movie:

1) You cannot have too much slow motion battling
2) Watching 300 nearly naked dudes lounging around is totally fine, as long as you know that they are about to dispatch 10,000 of the enemy
3) Spartans are hiliarious - "We will fight in the Shade"
4) In addition to not showing pain, fear, or surrendering, they have also given up all laws of physics. Throwing a spear accurately at 1/2 mile isn't even really a feat.

Damn straight. That's in the Bible AND the Constitution. Look it up.

Im agreeing with NoSoup and willravel, the movement and timing produced greate imagery.

Good Job Frank Miller and crew

I did not like 300. I'm a sci fi/action film/history/comic lover. I would have thought it was right up my alley. But, as it is, I think it's worthy of an MST3K treatment.

It wasn't entirely bad. A lot of the battle scenes were good; very good, in fact. But so many parts of the movie were so laughably bad that it really killed the enjoyment. The highly stylized look of the movie worked both for it and against it in areas.

I really wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The overwhelmingly positive response to this film is just baffling me.

This sentiment reminds me of how I felt about 'A History of Violence". Apparently, everyone but me and my little bro absolutely loved the movie. I thought it was one of the worst pieces of film I've ever seen. I'm still confused as to how people enjoy it. To each their own, I suppose.

I think that was actually a quote from Dienekes. "So much the better, we shall fight in the shade." It's even the Greek 20th Armored Division's motto. A lot of the quotes from the movie are from what is thought to be actual quotes people said at that time. Even on Leonidas' Monument, there is a thing that says, "Come and take them."

Also, I loved this movie so much! I loved the Battle of Thermopylae as a kid. The one thing I didnt like though was Spoiler: the large monster/executioner with the giant blade hands Besides that, the movie was fantastic.

I really really really wanted to love this movie like I loved Sin City.

I didn't and couldn't. The images of battle were beautiful, really beautiful and the oracle's dance was incredibly effective and powerful. The depiction of the Persian excess-Xerxes' moving temple, for example-were breathtaking.

The rest of the movie was blah. The entire "meanwhile in New Jersey" storyline back in Sparta was both terrible and completely pointless, to say nothing of being nothing even in the remote general vicinity of historically accurate. Also, for all the lofty talk of the phalanx, as far as I could tell they used it for all of five minutes. And then they didn't use it and were slaughtered. Now, I realize that watching 1 or 2 guys run around alone slaughtering hoards of bad guys is probably for the average viewer much more interesting than watching a phalanx work. However, the entire reason this battle is so famous is because of the fact that they used the damn thing to the full extent of its lethal potential. The movie paid modest lip service to that fact, but didn't show me all I wanted to see.

I enjoyed it, I'm glad I saw it, my fiance and I will probably own it, but it's not going on my favorites list.

Oh yeah, I agree with you. That just bugged me.

This movie is Hollywood schlock of the worst kind, just terrible. No plot at all, its just like killing, sex, killing killing, sex, sex, killing. This would have been just as effective as a 20 minute short except not nearly as tedious and boring. The writing was awful, horribly clichéd and predictable, and the whole thing was ridiculously over dramatic. It ripped off several movies that were actually good, like Gladiator, Crouching Tiger, Hero, even The Matrix and Lord of the Rings, except they forgot to copy any of the good parts and were left with all the crap. I would have had more fun burning a 10 dollar bill or reading a thousand page history about the Greek-Persian wars. This is the film equivalent of the brainless button-mashing violent videogame with pretty graphics. Movies like this are why I don't go to movies.

Damn... you do know this movie was not meant to be a history piece, that it was written to be an exact book-movie transition from a COMIC BOOK.

These things never were meant to be taken that serious.

Comic books, just like movies, in general (excluding educational films) are merely made for entertainment.

I'd suggest for you to re-watch it after brushing that chip off your shoulder, but it seems firmly in place.

Agreed - I don't think the film was supposed to pay homage to any historical facts at all, it was simply the movie version of the comic book.

To be fair, though, I certianly didn't expect to see any historically accurate scenes when I went to see the movie - just very pretty CG and a ton of slow motion fights. I got what I paid for :D

when i saw the movie, i made sure to check out the comic before to know what it was about. my dad who also saw it thought it was a bit weird but after i showed him the comics, he thought it was so much cooler.

plus, if everyone understood from the start that the whole movie was a story being told by the guy with a bandage, they'd know some stuff is over the top just like any stories told. oh well. i'll still buy the collectors dvd.

There's really no reason to get personal about this. We are not required to like either what Frank Miller did in the original comic book or in the movie. HISTORICAL fiction derives part of its charm and appeal and certainly all or most of its CONTEXT from a historical setting. There's a point to which we allow artists to play with history in order to make a compelling story. My complaint about the historical inaccuracies-and I think n0nsensical's too-is that they don't in any way contribute to making the story more compelling. For me, in fact, they made the story less compelling. I very much enjoyed watching the battles in the valley and the excess of Persia, as I noted, but the entire storyline in Sparta wasn't compelling. Why is my slaughter being interrupted with political nonsense that isn't factual and isn't interesting and, at the end of the day, didn't even matter?

That's the main reason I went to see the movie, and I was very pleased.

The side story in Sparta did take away from the slaughter, but like someone said before, Spoiler: there were a lot of women in the audience who cheered when the queen killed killed Theron so I think te side story did it's job.

Also, as I noted above, the "back home in Sparta" storyline isn't in the graphic novel and has a completely different dialogue style and tone.

Obviously it's not supposed to be accurate. My main complaint is not about the accuracy of the story, it's about the lack of any substantial story period. The historical context was completely irrelevant anyway. Its like, here's a bunch of white guys killing a bunch of brown guys. For two hours. While some other white people get nekkid and recite lame lines. Its like bad Cinemax porno with lots of violence. None of the movies I liked that it was "similar to" were very historically accurate either; I just can't believe anyone could be entertained by that. Its totally brainless. I was even half stoned while I watched it and I'd still have been more entertained by an old ladies' sewing circle. Now I accept there's some value in the visual style and art, but I don't think a two hour long feature film with no plot is a good way to display it.

I haven't read the comics, so my comments are purely a critique of the movie and not Miller's actual work.

I hope there's a sequel for this. I'm hankerin' for some more killing on the battle of plataea.

I haven't seen the comic book, yet, but this movie does live up to a lot of my expectations. Which isn't easy. 4.5/5 stars.

Saw it over the weekend. I thought it was an awesome experience. My wife even liked it, and she's a hard sell on this type of movie.

I had already read the graphic novel, now I'm reading Gates of Fire for a more in depth look at the subject. Really good reads.

I thought it was very pretty, in an intense, gory, gritty way.

A sequel would be a little difficult...

I've heard that Iraqis are pretty much up in arms over this movie, that they're pissed it makes them look bad...any truth to that?

Is the guy who played Xerxes really that tall?

It was the Iranians who are pissed if I recall correctly.

And the guy who played Xerxes is only 6'2", with the help of CGI, he's a 7-foot tall androgynous.

The guy who played Xerxes is Rodrigo Santoro, who you would recognize from Lost or Love Actually. And yeah, as Kelly said, he's a very normal sized guy who usually looks nothing like that.

We went to see this movie on Saturday.

I have never seen a worse case of myself wanting to enjoy a movie in my entire life. This movie came so close to being one of the best movies I've ever seen, but it didn't quite do it. It's what I thought was going to happen to Sin City. But they pulled Sin City off, somehow. 300 failed.

Pros: Great cinematography, great visuals, etc. All that was great. No cheesy wirework; all of the moves and fighting looked great. The movie had a nice "polish" to it, as far as visuals go. Great acting, for the most part. The guy that played Leonydus or whatever was really awesome.

Cons: This is what ruined the movie: the viewer is led to believe that these guys are invincible, that they are trained SO damn well that they can accomplish anything, and that if you truly believe in something, you can fight against the odds and overcome them. They kill thousands of men, only 300 Spartans do. They are super buff and can slice through enemies like butter. They have battle formations and all sorts of fancy stuff. They easily slice through wave after wave after wave of enemies. Regular soldiers are cut through, harder, monkey-mask wearing soldiers are slaughtered, an 8-foot tall "boss" is killed, rhinos are killed with one spear, and thenSpoiler: someone tells Echo-Mouth Xerces that they have a hidden path or something, and they all get slaughtered? Just like that? It just came out of nowhere. That's bad continuity. It just didn't flow. It even seemed like they gave up. The movie went directly from a "you can rise against the odds if you believe in yourself" picture to a "even the glorious will eventually fall." It didn't make sense. I found myself confused.

You might say, "But Redjake, the movie is just a GUY MOVIE! It's just a violent, ACTION MOVIE! What did you expect? Shawshank Redemption?"

Yes, I did. Because the movie portrays itself as Shawshank Redemption, The Matrix, and Gladiator mixed together. It is self-aware of the fact it is supposed to be a great movie. It doesn't present itself as an action movie - it has intertwined political plots, adultery plots, a "backstabbing" side character, emotional bonds between son and father, etc. Not just action, like Commando with Arnold. It THOUGHT it was a great movie - and was presented that way - and when it didn't deliver, it left a sour taste in my movie-going mouth. Sort of like the movie tried to pull a "quick one" on me. It didn't work. Useless side plots, the movie not knowing what its trying to accomplish, awkward plot events that don't fit in, and some cheesy dialogue prevented this amazing movie from being "amazing." 2/4 stars. Nice try, but no cigar.

I'm thoroughly convinced this movie could be re-edited to perfection. Remove some side plots, dialogue, and rearrange some scenes, and this movie would be billy-badass. I'm almost thinking if Spoiler: they put the fact they all get slaughtered in the BEGINNING of the movie it would have more of an effect. Stuff like that. It needs a rework.

Weeeellll, even though the movie is based on a comic, the comic *is* based on history, and kinda like Titantic, most folks know how it's going to end.

Tactics. The Spartans were able to hold the Persians at bay because the Persians were funnneled into a narrow opening. Once the Persians were informed of a passage around the corridor they were able to encircle the spartans, thus robbing them of their tactical advantage. Once they were encircled, numbers did matter, and their demise was inevitable. I do not understand why you think they "gave up", since Spoiler: as Leonidas was throwing the spear, the remaining Spartans fought to their death, as was clearly shown. I'm left wondering how much of the movie you paid attention to, because that was the climax of the movie. If something like that slipped by, I can see why you missed the "heart" of the movie which is subtle and unspoken.

Yes, and Spoiler: said spear that hit Xerxes was never meant to kill him I don't think. It showed that the god-king was, in fact, human and was meant more to demoralize the Persian army even more. Leonidas knew they were going to die, but the spear that cut Xerxes was meant to be a final blow to Xerxes' pride in the hopes that the rest of the Spartan army would be rallied to fight and finish the Persians off, which they did. The movie seems a lot deeper than just some action movie to me (not to take away the awesomeness of the action :)).

I didn't comment on this earlier, but now that someone has brought it up Spoiler: the entire spear thing made absolutely no sense at all. In what possible universe would you deliberately choose to wound your enemy to "show he's not a god" instead of killing him, which both, uh, kills him AND shows he not a god. I'm pretty sure you'd do a better job of demoralizing an army by killing their leader who they all believe to be a god than by simply cutting him and making him feel sheepish and vulnerable. I think you're right, YW, I don't think that spear was ever meant to kill him. I think it was a direct follow up to the "you will bleed" comment from earlier. When that comment was made I was like "oooh badass." The way it played out was horribly unfulfilling and I didn't feel like it made any sense. Ah well.

In his case, death would have been the easy way out for Xerxes. Makes perfect sense.

Come on, the Spartans were awesome, the movie Spartans even more so, but do you really think that from a quarter-mile away Leo intended only to wound Xerses?

The Spartans all knew it was the end, and that they would never surrender, and were simply planning to sell their lives as dearly as possible. Leo was trying to spear X, missed, and finished up by doing as much damage as he could before the bitter end.

Yes, when your position is defendable by a 30-wide line of men, any crack in that position is going to greatly weaken the advantage.

They didn't really portray the key strategies of the real battle very well at all. But a phalanx is not as sexy to watch as a much of individual (gorgeous) fighters on an open field, which is exactly opposite of what happened. But you gotta do stuff like that for movies.

But we were lead to believe that they were so great. Just because they weren't an a "tactical advantage" means they all Spoiler: get slaughtered? And what was with the spear? Talk about a downer when he just nicked him instead of impaling him. Just didn't work. The Leonydis we grow up with in the film would have divided up the 300 into sections of 150, and had them fight back-to-back or something, covering both passage ways into their stronghold.

It just didn't feel right. And don't accuse me of not paying attention to movies! The climax was every bit of an anti-climax. I was paying attention, but it was all wrong. I understood every piece of info you just told me, it just didn't flow. And don't drop the ""heart of the movie/subtle and unspoken message" bit. 300 is not that type of movie. It wanted to be, and it wasn't. Any film with filler substance to gap the fighting scenes has no worthy "hidden message."

Perhaps if I read the comic I would be less judgmental - but I'm rating this thing versus other movies, not comics. Two different mediums.

I thought that the point was to lull Xerxes and his immortals into letting their guard down so Leonidas could take a shot at him.

Plus they were a lot less than 300 at that point and they were surrounded by archers.