The gladiators chop,
slice and dice in ‘300’

At the Movies
By Senitra Horbrook

With hundreds of well-chiseled men attacking one another with spears, swords and shields, 300 couldn’t possibly be any more masculine.
Just about a month ago, I wrote that Because I Said So is one of those movies made by and for women. No question about it, 300 is a man’s movie. That’s not a bad thing; however, I didn’t enjoy it. Bloodshed, decapitations and half-naked men and women may be entertaining for some, just not me.
Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller, the film enlists director Zack Snyder to bring to the big screen the story of 300 Spartans who battle a Persian army of thousands.
Similar to the adaptation of Miller’s graphic novel Sin City, 300 also makes extensive use of CGI, or computer-generated images. CGI seems to be the trend now in live action films, making them more like video games than movies. That being said, the visuals in 300 are very good, and it’s almost hard to believe that much of 300 was filmed in front of blue screen.
The story of 300 is interesting, but don’t go to this film if a thought-provoking story is what you’re hoping to see. Snyder’s style is kill first, talk later. Dialogue is few and far between, seemingly placed to give the audience a chance to catch their breath after the battle scenes.
In ancient Greece, Spartan men are groomed from a young age to be warriors. Deformed babies are literally thrown off a cliff, but young boys with promise are mentored on how to take pain. Then they’re left out in the freezing cold to face vicious animals. If they live, they’re ready for war.
We are first introduced to future King Leonidas (Gerald Butler) while he’s prepared as a child for the ways of war. The movie then jumps to a Persian messenger who comes to Sparta with a message basically threatening adult King Leonidas and Sparta. Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), leader of Persia, wants King Leonidas to bow to him. Xerxes is quite over the top, and he intends to make Spartan women and children Persian slaves.
Leonidas decides war is the only way to protect Sparta. He goes before the Oracle, who refuse to send the army to war, so King Leonidas and 300 of his own soldiers decide to rumble with thousands of Persians.
One aspect of the film that is interesting is the way the Spartans and Persians are depicted. Spartans are "real men" with washboard abs. Persians are said to be "boy-lovers," with a leader who favors a drag queen.
Battle scenes are long and awfully bloody. The Spartans are pretty strong, knocking off a lot of Persians in a matter of minutes, and they intend to fight to the death. Spartan swords pierce the bodies of Persian men. Those bodies are all over the landscape, not to mention sliced Persian limbs that fly left and right.
You should also prep yourself for one slow-motion scene of a head being sliced off and the body falling to the ground. It was just too much for me.
Back on the home front, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) is presenting her case as to why the entire army needs to be fighting. For the most part, women are just sex objects; Headey, come to think of it, is the only woman in the film with a speaking role. She makes the most of that role, and audiences will cheer when Queen Gorgo gets her revenge against an evil politician.
Fans of Miller’s novel, as well as other epic war movies like Gladiator and Troy, are likely to enjoy 300. If nothing else, it will certainly make you want to hit the gym.
I certainly don’t disagree that heroism is on display in 300. King Leonidas and his men are admirable for their bravery, for their willingness to fight for freedom.
Nobody ever said a gladiator showdown was pretty. But one question does come to mind amid the blood and violence.
Is it worth losing your head over? ••
Movie Grade: C