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The story of the 300 Spartan soldiers led by their
King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) defend their land an army
of thousands of Persian invaders at the height of Greek
Civilization as King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) conquered
much of the known world. Meanwhile back home in Sparta the
Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) tries to gain the senates approval
to provide troops to support the 300 Spartan soldiers that
are fighting to protect their freedom and land. ***
A well made action adventure film based on Frank Miller
and Lynn Varley's graphic novel of the same name, Zack Snyder
manages to create a digital graphic novel in his presentation
of the same material. Well made with powerful performances,
"300" has one major flaw-a lack of character development.
Certainly the film is indebted to Ridley Scott's stylish
"Gladiator" (which was no doubt influenced by Miller's graphic
novel as well) but the film still has its own personality.
Visually the film is beautifully realized and is a marvelous
thrill ride with sequences of violence that border on pornography
at times. Anybody expecting a historical epic true to what
really occurred will be disappointed but the "300" is darn
entertaining. ***
"300" may lack depth, well developed characters and
subtext but when you're watching the film none of that really
matters; this is candy for the eyes. ---
Image & Sound:
A marvelous transfer that captures the rich epic look
of the original theatrical version, "300" has plenty of
digital grain which is quite intentional and is used as
part of the texture and look of the film. Colors are bold
where appropriate almost stylized, again recalling Miller
and Varley's rich, colorful graphic novel. Audio sounds
marvelous with a very active 5.1 mix that has lots of activity
in the surround speakers that will put you in the center
of the action. ---
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