[Movie] 300

Quote:

How can we believe these characters' rants about freedom, honor and justice when they are a brutal, slave-owning, baby-killing warrior nation?

This is such a huge part of the story. A reminder that before temerity, the integrity and accuracy of your ideals are something important to consider. The noble fight for the freedom of Greeks against an outside oppressor is, well, noble, but the condition of those at home should not be ignored.

It's a Frank Miller work. There are, of course, no easy moral answers.

That said, the action sequences were amazing and really lived up to Miller's distinct style and pacing. A shot early in the movie of the curled back muscles of an anonymous Spartan reminded me intensely of Miller's mastery of the human anatomy (and sometimes subtle distortions thereof).

One thing that bothered me was the muddied and inconsistent accents in the film. Sometimes characters had them, sometimes they did not, and they changed from character to character. It would have been nice for all of the Spartans to speak similarly, and likewise the Persians, Arcadians, and Greeks. The costuming was fantastic and helped establish the identities of each tribe (Something, I think, that was true in Greece -- your clothes were an important part of your identity. Clothes made the man, so to speak). It's too bad the dialog could not match.

The subplot with the Queen, while compelling, was poorly executed, IMO. It could have helped to complement the action and battle going on abroad ("meanwhile, the battle for the home front..."), but it only really served to distract. The betrayal of the councilman was not surprising at all (primarily because they showed him with a Persian bribing the mystics), and I think that sort of betrayal could have been really powerful had it been withheld. "Is he just misguided? Will he keep his word? I wonder if he was bought by the Persians too.." would have been an excellent mystery to have going on in the background. Alas, it was revealed far to early that he was just a plain old turncoat.

Good movie, but some poor execution in some spots. Not sure if it's worth a repeat viewing, though, which might hurt it's sales on DVD.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Servilonus, check out the original comics. Or really, anything Frank Miller has done. He has the most amazing anatomy. Plus, he loves doing spreads and huge panels that are just gorgeous.

The film captured all of this beautifully.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by JazzFlight

That's probably my #1 complaint with the movie.

Spoiler:

I didn't feel anything when the captain's son died.
I didn't feel anything when Leonidas died.
I didn't feel anything when his men were dying.
I didn't feel anything when the wife got the pendant back.

And yet, the movie slowed the fuck down and tried to MAKE me feel something by laying on the sad music and slow motion, etc...

Problem is, it hadn't developed anything significant beforehand. That's why I was bored throughout the ending (from Leonidas' last stand until the final speech).

In this movie, its strongest emotion it can hope to muster is some kind of blood-thirst from its audience. I mean, even though the Queen subplot was boring, its conclusion was exciting. This movie can make you shout, "KILL HIM, SLICE HIS THROAT, YEAH!", but it can't make you cry.

I agree. But I still enjoyed watching the movie. It did feel really short though, perhaps yet another artifact of the poor pacing and execution I'd mentioned earlier.

Anyway, it's good to see this movie (and Miller) having success. I really wish they would adapt Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns into a movie, though. Man, that stuff is awesome.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.