Have you ever gone to a movie with great expectations and left thinking �Boy, I�m sure glad I didn’tdirect that.� You know the type, where the bad casting, worse acting, terrible special effects, and a distinct lack of nude scenes leaves you ignoring the screenplay and thinking up creative ways for your gummy bears to commit suicide?
Well, �300� was definitely not one of those movies. It had everything a moviegoer could ask for: buff, topless men, naked women, totally sweet fight scenes, ninjas, and some of the best one-liners I�ve ever heard.
By Paul Crossman,
Contributor
Have you ever gone to a movie with great expectations and left thinking �Boy, I�m sure glad I didn’tdirect that.� You know the type, where the bad casting, worse acting, terrible special effects, and a distinct lack of nude scenes leaves you ignoring the screenplay and thinking up creative ways for your gummy bears to commit suicide?
Well, �300� was definitely not one of those movies. It had everything a moviegoer could ask for: buff, topless men, naked women, totally sweet fight scenes, ninjas, and some of the best one-liners I�ve ever heard.
One scene took place in front of a 30-foot high wall of human bodies, and showcased the relentless Spartan warriors fighting literally hundreds of Persian ninjas. At this point in the movie I had already knocked over my popcorn in excitement, gripping the arm of the guy next to me as I tried to figure out who I should root for to win the fight.
It was like pitting Superman against Batman – you figure Superman’s going to win the whole time, but Batman’s pretty skilled too, so a part of you just keeps hoping he might win.
On top of some of the best fight scenes I�ve been privileged to see – and I�ve seen a lot – this movie had excellent cinematography, and kept going at just the right pace to keep me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
The style in which it was filmed was reminiscent of the graphic novel on which it was based, and the story line stuck close to it’s original. If you were a fan of the comic and have been putting off going to the theatres, don’t- you won’tbe disappointed by this movie.
At some point since the film was released, you may have heard people complaining about its numerous historical inaccuracies. To those people only one response is needed: the movie is based on a comic book … who cares?
Perhaps the only thing that could have made this movie better would have been if Xerces, the God-king of the Persian army, had been played by John Stamos, the actor who played Uncle Jesse on Full House. Even the Spartans would have cowered beneath his seductive gaze and shining, well-combed hair. Frank Miller undoubtedly had this written in the original script, but didn’tthink the world could handle the movie being any sweeter than it already was.
Truthfully though, go see this movie. Not only did I leave the theater feeling like I had gotten my $8 worth, I left wanting to go outside, rip up a sign post and throw it through my friends chest. Any film that arouses feelings like that is, in my book, definitely worth seeing.
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