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Saying that I’m a fan of Frank Miller’s work is something of an understatement.  Gun to my head, I’d probably say he’s my favorite comic writer.   Among my favorites of his work is 300, his take on the battle of Thermopylae.  Miller’s 300, is a short but powerful view of the small Spartan force that held back millions of Persians. 

With Robert Rodriguez’s brilliant Sin City, we saw that Miller’s work could be successfully adapted to the big screen, but could lightning strike twice?  It was the success of Sin City that made 300 possible, and it was even filmed using similar techniques.  But could Director Zack Snyder pull off what Rodriguez pulled off.  The answer, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, is a resounding “yes!”  This is not to say that 300 is perfect, it’s not.  But we’ll get to that later.  First, let’s talk about what does work.

 

From the moment the film opens, you feel that this is not the same world you know nor is it Snyder’s world.  This is Frank Miller’s world.  His pages come to life here, even the spurting blood looks like it came from Miller’s own pen.  The sky, the grass, the wind; they’re all speaking Miller’s language.  Snyder is just the tour guide.  That, above all else, is 300’s greatest triumph.  It’s a spectacular thing to behold.

I have to admit that I have somewhat of a man-crush on Gerard Butler.  Ever since Richard Donner’s Timeline, and even more so in Schumacher’s Phantom of the Opera, I’ve just been digging this guy’s screen presence.  As Leonidas, King of Sparta, Butler finally finds his break-out role.  Even with his Scottish accent peaking in and out, he totally nailed the role.  He is the great King! 

I know that most audiences are not going to see 300 because they love Frank Miller’s graphic novel, but because they saw an action-packed trailer.  So, with that in mind, I’d like to tell all the action junkies out there that they will not be disappointed.  300 has some very, very impressive battle scenes, and blood and guts to spare.  Heads, arms, legs, eyes and everything else that could possibly be severed or stabbed is shown here in glorious color.  The R rating is well-earned.  Some of the action does overuse the slow motion techniques, but, for the most part, it works.

My next few points probably have more to do with my own interpretation of Miller’s work than the film itself.  The graphic novel is rather short and because of that, the filmmakers had to add in some of their own material to make a full-length feature.  None of this added material is bad, and if I wasn’t so familiar with the original work, I doubt I would have felt it was out of place; but, some of it just didn’t sound like Miller to me.  The main addition is a subplot with Leonidas’s wife Queen Gorgo (played beautifully by Lena Headey) that I felt was besides the point of the story.  Again, this is not a bad addition and it doesn’t hurt the film.  Miller’s original story was more about the soldier’s journey.  The film takes a more rounded approach, but, in the end, I think I would have preferred a more straight-forward 75-minute film.

Another possible difference in interpretation was with the characterization of Xerxes, The God-King (Rodrigo Santoro).  In the book (and in my head) Xerxes was a terrifying tyrant that was a worthy enemy to Leonidas.  Sure, he was a bit effeminate with his jewelry, piercings and manner, but I feel they went a little too far with it in the film.  They’ve also done something to the actor’s voice, some sort of modulation to make it deeper, that reminded me of Ra (Jaye Davidson) in Stargate.  Add that with Xerxes’ painted on eyebrows and you’ve got one very scary looking drag queen, but not a very effective villain.

I can, however, forgive all of these little interpretational issues, because of just how powerful a cinematic experience 300 is.  The breadth of Miller’s graphic novel is fully realized here and seeing this fantastical world brought to life is a real treat.  Snyder and his digital artists have created a gorgeously-brutal tapestry of honor, sacrifice and duty.  And a bloody awesome film!

Continue discussing the film here.