300 film review

certificate_15

300

The real stars of the stunning 300 are not the men and women in front of the camera, but director Zack Snyder, his legions of effects geniuses and Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, who created the graphic novel on which this visual masterpiece is based. Each frame stands alone as a work of art. Run together, they become a living, three-dimensional realization of Miller and Varley's vision.

Snyder was determined to be as faithful as he could be to the book, which is based on the heroic tale of the Spartan king Leonidas who, in 480 BC, with 300 of his soldiers, fought valiantly against the might of the Persian army at the battle of Thermopylae. The result is an epic tale that blends reality and fantasy both visually and literally. Miller adds his own rich imagination to the known facts of Thermopylae and the subsequent tales of the battle told by such Greek writers as Herodotus and Simonides. The Persian King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) has evolved into a bejeweled, pierced giant and the Spartan Ephialtes (Andrew Tiernan), whose betrayal of Leonides (Gerard Butler) led to the Persians' victory, is a grotesque monster. Throughout, 300 is filled with extraordinary and mythical creatures.

Shot entirely on a stage with the use of blue screen, everything from the breathtaking landscapes to the massed Persian armies and raging sea are computer generated. Even the bloody battle scenes are a mix of live action and CGI. When blended with the use of models and prosthetic make-up, and filmed in a muted colour palette with a high contrast treatment, 300 assumes an illustrative look, emulating Miller's distinctive style.

The battle scenes are choreographed with a mix of brute strength and balletic grace. At times the action is in slow motion. Soldiers move gradually and elegantly through the air, emphasizing their power and intent. The explicit violence is of an exaggerated nature, exemplified by the blood droplets that float about as if suspended in animation.