2007-03-23

300


"This is where we fight! This is where they die!". I'll admit it, after repeatedly witnessing the bombastic, guitar crunchingly deafening trailer littered with such one dimensional sound bites, I wasn't expecting much from the latest Frank Miller adaptation. Two hours later though, and this stylish take on the historic Battle of Thermopylae had done everything a slice of pop culture movie making should do.

480BC and king Xerxes the Great descends upon Greece with the massed hordes of his Persian military. Dispatching messengers across the land, asking only for the Greek city states to subjugate themselves to his rule, the self proclaimed god hadn't reckoned on the response of Spartan king Leonidas. Born into a warrior culture, Leonidas chooses (not unsurprisingly) that it would be tactically advantageous (and a whole heap more fun) to have a bit of rumble with the Persian invaders. Without the backing of his Spartan officials, he nevertheless takes a selection of his finest men to meet Xerxes head on, and the 300 of legend are born.

Visually flawless, 300's artistic superiority to previous Frank Miller adaptation Sin City is so complete, the comparison seems deeply unfair. Perfectly composed, the lush colour palette and pin sharp CGI blend in a sumptuous visual feast. At times erotically pleasing (the overtly perky breasts on lithe female bodies, not the blokes you bummers), but more often viscerally satisfying in it's portrayal of ancient violence. Staying close to the graphic novel has once again reaped enormous rewards, and shown how gifted an artist Miller is. It's also the first movie I've seen digitally projected, and the benefit from this technological jiggery-pokery was impressive.

Depth and subtlety are commodities in short supply on the story front, but 300 never pretends to offer them. Instead characters are drawn with broad strokes of the storytelling brush; detailed enough for us to care about their fate, and to give flesh to the underlying themes of honour, duty, and the simple pleasure of kicking arse. The surprising thing is how well this works in the movie's favour. It really does feel like a myth, an embellished legend being told round the campfire.

This broad and simple framework also brings forth solid acting from all those involved. A tangible bond forms between the Spartan soldiers, held together by the strong presence of Leonidas. He also gets some excellent and memorable one liners, giving us moments of genuine humour that slot seamlessly into the bloody situation. Even the "story back in Sparta", unfolding during the brief breaks in battle allows for strong characters to develop. Queen Gorgo arguably gets the best scene in the whole movie, when she has her revenge on a scheming politician.

If you can stomach the comic book gore, live with the simple story and occasionally clunky dialogue, then 300 is an immensely entertaining movie. It's also a hell of a lot better than I expected.