300

By
Shannon Onstot
Community Relations Manager
KUNV 91.5 FM
University of Nevada Las Vegas
email: smonstot@yahoo.com


 

 

300 is without a doubt one of the most visually innovative and advanced films of its time, but it is not without its faults. The writing is cheesy and laughable, and the storyline seems more like a fairy tale then an epic. It seems like the writers relied too much on the visuals to carry them, but it works. Anyone who sees this can’t deny that 300 is a stunning otherworldly film.

Leonidas (Gerard Butler) is king of Sparta, the Greek nation historically remembered as perfect warriors and rivals to Athens. 300 follows the story of Sparta’s battle with Persia’s massive army and “God-King” Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). The film opens with King Leonidas’ fellow warrior, Dilios (David Wenham) telling a group of soldiers about the king’s beginnings as a fighter, and he continues narrating the king’s story throughout the film. When a baby is born in Sparta, it is examined to see whether it is weak or strong, then either tossed off a cliff or put into battle training. Once the future king has gone through seven years of training, he is left out in the mountains of Greece to kill a really strange looking wolf, then he returns to Sparta to prove that he can take the throne.

Jump forward 15 years or so, and the king is full-grown, married to Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) and has a young boy of his own. One day a messenger from Persia comes to tell the king that Xerxes will go to war with Sparta unless he is given earth and water. Because Leonidas is so stubborn, he refuses and consults the high priests and the oracle for permission to go to war. This sets up the most visually stunning scene of the film. Leonidas is at the top of a mountain with the gruesome priests when the oracle is awoken to give her prediction for the outcome of the battle. When the Oracle wakes up, she is like a painting come to life and it is fluid and graceful. The scene is undeniably beautiful, but it is an odd juxtaposition to the rest of the film’s visuals which are all violent and gory.

Leonidas decides to go to war, and leaves his wife to deal with the city’s corrupt politicians and misogynist attitudes. Headey is the only female character in the film that has any lines, and I think she does a good job of remaining a strong leader throughout, despite all the personal attacks against her. I thought she was the standout character in the film, because she was one of few who didn’t have to scream constantly or look good in a loincloth while cutting someone’s head off.

The battle scenes are well done, and different from any that I’ve seen in the past. Like in any war movie though, and especially for one based on a graphic novel, there are moments that are melodramatic and are more funny than they are compelling. All the standoffs between Leonidas and Xerxes cracked me up because they speak in such short sentences, and the camera cuts quickly between each king’s eyes over and over again. The fact that Xerxes would have made a fabulous drag queen and Leonidas had the whitest teeth I’ve ever seen in ancient history didn’t help me take the scenes any more seriously.

Again, the film is based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City) so you have to go into the film expecting over the top costumes, ridiculous creatures, and short, cheesy, dramatic lines. Despite all it’s superficiality, I had to give 300 a high rating because its purpose was to be graphically innovative and give its audience a visual feast, not impress us with realistic or compelling writing. You don’t necessarily have to think about anything or try to solve any mystery when it comes to this film, just sit back and enjoy the mythic painting-like scenery dazzle you.