Reviews by Matt

If there is one thing that everyone must do before they die, it is this; attend a midnight showing of a movie. These showings are for the people who are just too excited for the movie that they must see it as soon as possible. Rarely will you ever experience a movie like this. The entire theater is full of people who might as well be of the same mind. They laugh, cheer and jeer at the same time and the same moments. So, when my friend told me he had tickets to the midnight showing of “300,” I was not about to pass up the chance to have that experience.

“300” is not only based on the Frank Miller graphic novel, but also on the Battle of Thermopylae. The Spartan warrior has become widely know as the bravest in history. To a Spartan, the best death was a death in battle. There was honor in it and they never gave up and never retreated. It is this battle that has made them the legends they are. King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartan soldiers stood up against King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and the Persian army at Thermopylae, a key route into Greece.

One thing that I have heard about this movie is that it is too bloody. Allow me to point out a few things to all those who agree. First, it is a movie based on an ancient battle. They used sharp pointy objects to kill their opponent, which is bound to cause some blood spatter. Secondly, it is based on a Frank Miller graphic novel. Miller uses blood in such a way that it is stylistic and not gory. Movies like “Braveheart” and “Gladiator” had the same amount to blood, maybe even more, but were critically acclaimed. The blood is in no way any more excessive then in any other film to come before it.

The bloody battles aside, the movie is visually stunning. The backgrounds were all done digitally to match the graphic novel as closely as possible. Just as with “Sin City,” the graphic novel was used as a storyboard. Shots appear in the movie just as Frank Miller drew them.

One of the most amazing visual effects was used during some of the battle scenes. They set up three cameras together. One set for close up, one for a medium shot and one for the long shot. They were able to cut within a single movement from the close up of the character to the long shot of the character and the surroundings. It really was an amazing technique that added something new to the same old battle scene.
Performance-wise, the standout would have to be Lena Headey who plays Queen Gorgo. She plays the perfect Spartan woman. They are just as tough and just as stubborn as the men. She is not easily pushed around and will do whatever it takes to help her husband. She pleads with the council to send reinforcements to help Leonidas fight off the Persian invasion. She is torn between what is best for her people and what she wants. She knows that Leonidas is going off to his death, but she keeps herself together because she knows this is what is best for Sparta.

There is a larger story lingering behind all the visual effects, battle scenes and bloodshed. It goes beyond the simple story of these 300 Spartans who stood up to an army of a million; it is the ideals of the society they fought to defend. The movie is historically accurate: this battle happened, and the Spartans were a very military oriented people. There are some liberties taken to make it more mythological and dramatic, but on the whole, the movie sticks to the truth. The beginning of the movie tells the audience all about how a Spartan boy is taught from a very young age that to fight and die for Sparta is the greatest sacrifice one can make. Before she sends her husband off to war, Queen Gorgo tells Leonidas, “Come back with your shield, or on it.” This line sums up the Spartan culture presented in “300.” Honor was everything and there was nothing else worth living for. To die in battle meant you would be remembered forever and this was the greatest honor a Spartan could receive.

It is these ideals that drove the 300 to fight and keep fighting until their last breath. Their sacrifice saved the rest of Greece from being taken over by the Persian army. They gave the rest of Greece the time they needed to rally their troops and prepare to take on the Persians. To this day they are used as an example of true courage, and that’s exactly how the Spartans would have wanted it.

9 out of 10
Rated R for graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity.
Runtime: 117 min