300

Let's see: Gorgeous, well-built, muscular men, half-naked, shot in glorious colors and brilliant tones, in a movie based on a Frank Miller graphic novel. Will I like it? :)

Two words: Wooooooooo-Hoooooooooo!
Gerard Butler! Yum. I loved him in 'Phantom of the Opera.' I need to pick that one up.

But what can I say about '300?' Well, in a few words:

Visually, brilliant. It reminded me of R.E.M. videos, 'The Cell' (both directed by Tarsem), and 'Gladiator' all in one, except, if possible, it was prettier than all of those combined. Me, I love very visual films. And, I read reviews that said, all they could think about was the excessive CGI, but I guess I have a very high ability to maintain The Suspension of Disbelief, because I was so engrossed, I forgot that any of it was CGI. It just looked fabulous to me.

Gerard. He was great as Leonidis, the Spartan King. I remember learning about The Spartans as a child; this film provided a very clear picture of who they were and what they believed and stood for. They kicked ass for so much of this film; you really wanted them to win.

Historically, I read that this was not 100% accurate. Who cares? It was very, very entertaining. And I'm understanding Frank Miller's motifs. Like, when you think Tarantino, you think: great pop culture dialogue, homage to old films, homage to Samurai, and extreme violence. With Frank Miller, you learn to think: Epic, yet different, love story, extreme violence, and inner battles of pysche for the main characters. Plus, a sense of dread, as you just know that main characters will face a horrible fate. But...sometimes they come out ok. I won't blow any endings, but a quick Google of the Battle of Thermopylae and you know how this one ended. Still, it was a beautiful ride.

Great scenes? The arrows blotting out the sun was incredible, and should be considered a classic film moment. The slow-mo battle scenes were impressive. The brief love scene between Leonidis and his wife was nice, but needed to focus on him rather than her (for us women!). And Leonidis fighting the wolf in the very beginning was interesting. Miller's interpretation of The Persians was interesting too: The Persian king Xerxes looked more like a drag queen and less like a king. But still, with the deep bass voice, he sounded like the God he thought he was.

I've always been fascinated with three cultures: Egypt, Rome, and Greece. Great cultures, and true templates for us today. So any film about these cultures is interesting to me. In '300,' Xerxes tells Leonidis that his name will be erased from history, that Sparta will be torn from history books and forgotten. Ironic that I remember more about Sparta than I ever did about Persia. :)

Grade? A++

Recommended, for sure. Beware of violence, though, as there's plenty. Nothing really gross, I didn't think, just a few beheadings that may have looked a bit CGI. But otherwise, mostly just your standard war violence.

Have a great day.