300 review by The Grim Ringler
300
Let’s face it, if you were going to see this then you have already seen it. It’s hard to resist the allure of bombast and shirtless men. Witness the popularity of the Benji films. There’s something raw and primal about war movies and when you throw in some history, even if it’s pseudo-history, it seems to connect with people. So, knowing that most people know whether they want to see this film or not, I’ll skip the shouting and the chest thumping and get on with it.
Sparta is under attack. All that they love and hold as dear is threatened by the
spreading of the Persian Empire, which looks to add
It amuses the hell out of me when I hear or read about
how this movie has some nefarious subtext that I don’t think the graphic novel’s
writer, or the filmmakers saw. No, this is not a pro-war film, this is not an
anti-gay film, this is not a film about
It Creates a surreal world where monstrous men fight along normal men and no one blinks an eye. This is a beautiful use of green screens and of shooting on stages and shows, like Sin City that sometimes less can lead to more. This film mixes myth and reality in a way that creates a new pseudo-reality that we don’t believe in but WANT to believe in. This works in ways that say Troy couldn’t because, again, less was more, and without the grandiose and overpowering elements 300 can focus on these 300 men and their fight. None of this is to say that the character of the queen is an un-important one though, don’t get me wrong. Keeping the film grounded in reality and entrenched in bureaucratic nonsense, but her pride and love for her husband and nation really bring her character to life. In fact, as over the top as some of the acting is, it works. Everything here works. The story is larger than life and so is the film, and director Snyder captures that. Coming off of Dawn of the Dead, Snyder had gotten a lot of praise for his dynamic direction but an almost equal amount of ire from fans angry that he’d remade a classic film. With this new film he is able to set himself apart and show what a talent he is. A lot of filmmakers use digital effects and green screens as a way to hide limitations in their films but here he uses these as the tools they were meant to be and not as crutches. There are rare, if any moments where you are taken from the story of the film because of an effect, which is proof that these can be effective tools.
This is certainly not a film for everyone. It’s very violent, very brutal, and is a perfect example of what sort of adult stories can be told with the medium of graphic novels. Beneath the bluster and blood though is a very simple story of standing up for what you believe in, whatever the cost, and that’s a message we can’t get hear enough.
…c…
9 out of 10 Jackasses blog comments powered by Disqus