300 (open Spoilers)

Cafe Society
1

There’s a thread back a few pages but I wanted to start a post-release thread with a spoiler warning in the title because I really hate the boxes. Please don’t box spoilers in this thread - no one who hasn’t seen the movie and doesn’t want it spoiled should be reading.

Now . . .

I’ve got to say: It was ok.

What I liked:

The lead actor did a great job. His accent kept creeping in, but the accents were all over the map in this film, so I can’t really blame him individually. The battle scenes were clear and unflinching compared to most modern movies. I absolutely despise action scenes that are so fast-paced and fragmented that it’s impossible to tell what’s going on, and I applaud this movie for not doing that. The aesthetic was great; apart from a few early scenes with some very weird lighting, I did not feel like I was watching a green screen. The fantasy elements were great; giant Xerxes, mutants, etc. These were important to me because they screamed, “We are not trying to make a historical epic! This is stylized fiction!” The historical references: “We will fight in the shade,” “come home with your shield or on it,” etc.

What I didn’t like:

The speeches were my #1 complaint. Been there done that, and it’s been annoying for awhile. I’m sick of epic, inspiring pre-battle speeches in movies. From now on they should shout Rape the fuckers! and get on with it. The guy whose son died, making the big display of not having told him he was his favorite: lame and predictable, and added nothing. The plot back home got a little bit too heavy; I could’ve done without several of the Queen & Trader scenes. The 300’s last stand felt rushed: it was like they thought “ok, this is the part of the script where they need to die so, bang, they’re dead.” The accents were all over the place. The ending was taken right out of Braveheart. The “Remember us!” theme was done in Troy, and I didn’t like it in that movie either.

Overall, 7/10. Good but not great.

2

Yeah, nice art direction and the action scenes are interesting, but the human elements of the story didn’t work. A bit stronger focus on the characters, even if it was just more grim determination in the face of the inevitable, would have elevated this movie from stylish action film to epic that will be remembered for all time. The Spartans were there, they were brave, they fought, and they died but the film spends a bit too much time telling us how great they were rather than letting the actors and the scenes demonstrate it.

The added subplot of the council in Sparta was really weak and I think it undermined the film. I understand that they didn’t want to just have the the entire second half be choppin’ off heads but there were other options they could have taken that would have been more true to the source material and carried the movie better.

Still, 300 is probably the single most macho film ever made. It’s the action film that makes other action films look like romantic comedies.