300
Starring: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, Rodrigo Santoro, David Wenham, Michael Fassbender,
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Drama, War
2006

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Spartan King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) leads 300 of his soldiers into battle against the overwhelmingly powerful Persian army.

Review:

Tim: Every so often, a film comes along that is exactly what I'm looking for when I go to the movies. However, from the very outset, I just can't get excited about it. Take 300 for example. It looked like a cross between Gladiator (which I love) and Sin City (which at least looks impressive). It is a movie about battling Spartans, and I should have been incredibly excited about seeing it. I was not. When I finally did watch it, I did find myself looking forward to it, buoyed by the high praise I heard heaped on it. However, perhaps after seeing over a thousand movies, my movie senses are more sensitive than others. In the end, I did enjoy the movie, but it's nothing to write home about.

This movie certainly exudes attitude, testosterone, and other manly virtues. There is a great deal of violence, quite a bit of bloodshed, and everything else you would expect to find in an R rated war movie about the Spartans. There are several memorable scenes and lines which will immediately become part of the collective cultural conscience of America. The movie will entertain, but by it's conclusion, you will feel slightly empty, as if the eye candy on screen tasted good, but wasn't completely able to fill you up. The movie lacks a certain emotional substance which we crave.

Gerard Butler is certainly impressive in his career-defining role. I can't imagine it required a great deal of acting ability. He mostly just needs to look tough and shout loudly (both of which he excels in doing). He makes a good leading man, but he's not Russell Crowe in Gladiator. The rest of the supporting cast is decent, but let's be honest, this is a one-man show. I should at least mention Rodrigo Santoro, who plays the god-like villain Xerxes. He was impressively scary, and one of the most effective bad guys in recent years. The movie is greatly helped by casting itself as an underdog story, and Xerxes is about as intimidating a villain as you could hope to have.

300 will undoubtedly score very highly with certain demographics. I did enjoy the movie, and it is extremely well made. However, I can't help but feel it could have been better. It could have infused more emotion, and it could be more satisfying. While I did like the movie, it didn't present enough to position itself outside of the portion of the spectrum where movies are easily forgotten or dismissed. Like so many films which strive for greatness, it is good, but not great.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Beowulf and Grendal, Gladiator, Braveheart