300 (Dr. Worm)

There's nothing subtle about 300. Look at the poster to the left here. See how it features a chiseled guy screaming in the rain? See how the title kind of looks like it was created by a blood splatter? See how there's a lightning bolt in the background, just for awesomeness sake? This poster tells you pretty much everything you need to know about 300. It's chock full of chiseled guys, blood, and--yes--awesomeness.

It's also the first movie of 2007 to make an imprint on the greater public consciousness, and for that, it deserves a deeper look.

The story of this film is rather simple: 300 Spartan soldiers must fight off a million-strong Persian horde. So it's your classic underdog story. But it's also the story of the Spartans defending their way of life against the Persians. So it's a classic "fight for your motherland" story. And in 300, the Spartans say all the right things about freedom and all men being created equal (in a bit of a stretch of historical accuracy), while the Persians are characterized as trembling in fear before their god-king Xerxes. So it's also a classic good vs. evil story.

These plot lines are developed, in large part, at the expense of nuance. But, honestly, that doesn't really matter. This is not a nuance movie. This is an adrenaline movie. This is a drums-pounding-electric-guitar-grinding-guys-yelling-and-killing movie. There's not a whole lot of room for nuance in the plot.

Fortunately, there's plenty of nuance in the visuals, which are stunning. The entire film has a marbleish feel to it, heightening the sense that these mythic heroes are ancient Greek statues come to life. And director Zack Snyder makes some really interesting choices with the fight scenes. At a couple points, he alternated between slowing down and then speeding up the action as the Greeks mowed through Persian after Persian--I found this to be a particularly effective technique (in fact the technique, and the movie in general, reminded me a bit of the video game Dynasty Warriors).

And like video games, 300 seems like it will appeal predominantly to male audiences. I don't want to generalize, but war movies with gratuitous battle sequences have historically been appreciated more by males than by females. Also, the main character, King Leonidas, is certainly a man's man; he's the kind of guy who'd sooner die than genuflect to another man--a character trait that sets the plot of the movie in action. Furthermore, there's only one one meaningful female character in the film, and not only is she admired mainly for her male characteristics (and hotness), she also bears the unfortunate name of Queen Gorgo. Other than her, it's pretty much all beefcake ... so, on second thought, maybe this film will appeal to females after all.

One person who should appeal to everyone is Gerard Butler, who plays King Leonidas. Butler's performance is strong and stable, and he's just thoughtful enough that you don't write off Leonidas as an arrogant jerk whose aversion to diplomacy brings his country to war. I will say, however, I was a bit confused as to why Leonidas and several of the other Spartans had Scottish accents. Maybe they were going for the Braveheart synergy effect (and in fact, one could certainly appreciate 300 as a poor man's Braveheart). Alongside Butler, Lena Heady does a competent job as Queen Gordo, Dominic West doesn't stretch but doesn't fail as the corrupt statesman Theron, and David Wenham is rather enjoyable as the silver-tongued soldier (and narrator) Dilios.

It should also be noted that this movie has attracted some attention for its perceived political messages. Iranians, for one, were incensed at how their ancestors (the Persians) are depicted. And several have noted that George W. Bush probably isn't disappointed to see such a positive portrayal of a leader who brings his country to war--despite objections--because he believes it's the right thing. (One writer went so far as to say the president "is going to blow a load in his pants when he sees this movie.") These are all interesting discussions, but they're out of place in a movie review. So check out our sister blog, I Should Be Allowed to Think, which was created just for topics like these.

All things considered, 300 is an enjoyable, visually arresting film that's a bit short on depth. That's good enough to earn it a 10.