So, I went to see Frank Miller’s 300 almost a week ago, and I just realized that I’ve yet to make a blog entry about it. (The reason I remembered, is because I was going to make an entry about Casino Royale, but I noticed a review of 300 was clearly missing.) So, tonight, I will make two entries for two movie reviews. Enjoy. :)
So… 300. What other word can be used to describe it other than “EPIC” ? (Yes, all caps.) If you said “there isn’t one”, you would be correct. 300 was one of the best movies I’ve seen in recent times, and what makes it better is that I got to see it on a DLP screen, so it looked absolutely amazing. High Def > all.
In case you don’t know, 300 is the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, which pitted a small band of Spartans (with assistance from a few other Ancient Greek City-States) against the massive horde of the Persian Army. 300 however, is not the most historically perfect rendition of the tale, though. As should be expected from a brainchild of Frank Miller, 300 takes a heavy supernatural lean.
There really isn’t much plot to speak of, except for the few scenes that take place in Sparta, but this is the Battle of Thermopylae, folks. You don’t need plot for that epic battle. 300 vs. a whole friggin’ lot is pretty much all you need to know.
The CG is amazing. The whole film has been artificially colored an orangish color, which greatly adds to the blood and war feeling. The monsters are done quite well, also, and the costumes and weapons are outstanding. Another thing is the blood effects. There is a copious amount of blood, but the animators take an interesting approach. Instead of having “streams” of blood, as would be the norm on such action movies, instead when a person is stabbed, slashed, or otherwise caused to bleed, the blood comes out in little “drops”. If you’ve seen the logo for 300, then you know what I’m talking about, as that is the style of the blood.
Overall, 300 was an amazing movie, and I can’t really do it justice while just using the textual medium. It is definitely a “must-see” film for anyone.
SCORE: A+