"300"

Interesting movie. Went to see it on Thursday and had some time to mull over how I felt about it.

They translated the graphic novel style into moving picture very well. The narrative style was nice and I think the gravelly tone is fitting. The whole movie was very bloody, however. Much more than I was expecting. I found the opening exposition a bit long but I enjoyed it. The changes of shot in some of the scenes were a little disorienting to me, but not that bad. The sex scene was obviously gratuitous.

The computer graphic animals parts were moderately crap, but that's not what you're here to see so it didn't matter in the end. Still, I felt the wolf looked like a cheap animatronic throw off and the seagulls like photoshopped tack-ons. Leonidas was neat and had a very "Greek King" feel to him, and the portrayal of his nobility and idealism was well done.

I didn't like that you only get to know a handful of characters: King Leonidas, Queen Gorgas, and Theron. They briefly touch on the Captain, but only because he loses his son in battle. And of those three that you do get to know, Queen Gorgas is the most interesting as she is trying to find ways to send help to her husband. Theron and King Leonidas were well portrayed, but they were still archetypal flat characters (not that this is a bad thing, I think it worked well).

The movie, I found, focused a little too much on every single killing blow. The amount of slow-down and zoom-in for each strike very tiresome and off-putting. As the movie continued, I felt progressively more and more as if I was in a video game. Animated gushes of blood flying all around, at the screen, pouring down, yet somehow totally lacking from the floor. Normally I wouldn't notice but there was THAT MUCH blood flying around in one scene. By the end I was feeling pretty numb and zoned out. Add that to how everyone (except the Greeks) was ugly or downright hideous, I definitely found myself frowning at many parts.

I was somewhat..... no, generally disappointed in the soliloquy of Queen Gorgo addressing the Council. The scene setup was nice. Streaming light behind, an inspiring song rising in the background. She starts well, but the words lacked polish. Oddly, for a movie of this nature and despite the disappointing speech of the Queen, I found the dialogue the most enjoyable. The machismo banter that goes on was enough to make me laugh and roll my eyes throughout.

I went into this movie with moderately high expectations as I'd heard how many had enjoyed it, but I do have to say that I was disappointed. I do attribute some of it to my personal tastes. This isn't a movie that I would usually like. Still for what it was it was nicely executed. I certainly think that there is room for improvement, even in the parts that would typically be in this type of film. I recommend this movie if you seriously need to sate some violent urges.

Overall: 6

Personal rating: 3

300 {subligar} {Do you have it?} {No, thanks.} =`x.x´=

PCA