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More buff than brains in 300
04/13/07
Posted under Republic of Comics, Cult of Genre
By Alex Villafania, hackenslash Reporter
INQUIRER.net
MOVIES with epic battles have become a staple in Hollywood. Most likely, this became a trend after the smashing success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, which cast tens of thousands of virtual warriors battling it out in open fields. Most recent epic movies with casts of almost or a little over a thousand were “Troy,” “Alexander” and “The Last Samurai.”
But it doesn’t take a large group of soldiers to make an epic movie great. In fact, it would only take a few hundred and this holds true in the movie “300.”
Directed by Zack Snyder, “300? is the movie adaptation of the 1998 graphic novel of the same name by renowned comic book master Frank Miller. As such, Snyder stylized the movie according to Miller’s visual designs and comic strip shots. People familiar with Miller’s work would also remember a previous movie adaptation of another graphic novel, “Sin City,” which also used comic book-style cinematography.
“300? follows the story of King Leonidas and his army of 300 Spartan warriors who faced the million-strong army of the Persian God-King Xerxes. Leonidas and his men prevented Xerxes from pursuing his conquest of Greece by blocking his army in a place called Hot Gates. Despite days of relentless attacks from Xerxes, Leonidas stood his ground and even exacted so much damage against the Persian army. However, the Spartans were betrayed by Ephialtes, a son of a Spartan soldier who was rejected by Leonidas for his deformity.
Miller’s story itself is based on a real historical Battle of Thermopylae in Greece, which happened 2,500 years ago. Much of the context of Miller’s graphic novel stuck to the original story but there were inaccuracies, including the number of Xerxes’ army [it was said to be just about 250, 000 soldiers], Xerxes himself being an androgynous giant, Ephialtes ever meeting Leonidas, and even the type of armor worn by the Spartans [historical Spartans wore light armor plating covering much of their body while Miller’s buff Spartans looked like they were going to a Chippendale party].
Because Snyder wanted to adapt the same designs as Miller’s comics, he used computer-generated environments as backdrop in about 80 percent of the film instead of shooting in real-world locations. This did a fair job in replicating the hazy and gloomy graphic novel atmosphere, which also made the movie look like it was part of a video game’s 3D cut scene. The shots were done in blue or green screen stages wherein the background images are digitally placed as underlay to the characters in post-production. Many of the film sequences followed the same comic panels in the graphic novel so that those who have read Miller’s “300? could compare it with the movie. Sadly, the backdrop almost becomes increasingly bland over the course of the movie primarily because it looks so surreal and fake.
The movie’s fight choreography also follows some of the basic fighting style of real Spartans, who only carried with them a short sword, a circular shield and javelin. In particular is the phalanx technique wherein the first layer of Spartans will serve as shield barriers against an onrush of enemies while the second layer will strike with their long javelins. However, the sword fights are overly done, somewhat toned-down version of Chinese wushu. This was done probably to make the hand-to-hand combat more dramatic.
Of course, the most obvious aspect of the movie is the lack of any body armor for the Spartans, who showed more skin than clothing. Historically, Spartans would barely wear any clothing when exercising and joining sports but were known to wear light body armor to keep them mobile. In the movie, they only wore a helmet, leather briefs and flowing crimson cape. Their near-nakedness did manage to show off ripped, testosterone-laden physiques. Just goes to show that even men in their 40s can still get great-looking bodies.
However, despite a good storyline and a stylized cinematography, the movie’s acting is less than stellar. Stage actor Gerard Butler seemed to be unable to let go some of his stage acting style, which emphasized a lot on facial expression and loud, perceptible voice. His character as Leonidas often made loud, expressive calls to his soldiers and he often bared much of his teeth that made him look crazy than determined. Meanwhile, Brazilian actor Rodrigo Santoro was made to look effectively effeminate as Xerxes in the film. A scene where Leonidas and Xerxes meet spills some sexual overtures. Again, historically, Xerxes never met Leonidas face-to-face.
Of course, the movie has a parallel story about Leonidas’ wife, Gorgo, who has to convince a committee of old parliamentarians to send forth support for his husband. This part of the movie does not have any real connections to Leonidas’ own, only as an intermission from all the gory battle scenes.
Perhaps the most insignificant part of the movie is in the last part where the Spartan Dilios, played by “Lord of the Rings” actor David Wenham, narrates the story of Leonidas to thousands of Spartans. Wenham’s character goes for a minute in a monologue that sounded more like an inspirational speech than a battle cry. The monologue should have been cut in half to lessen the dramatic effect for a movie that depicts gore and violence.
That said, “300? is a popcorn film that should be watched if only for its epic battles and fancy depiction of Spartans. “300? is committed to giving Miller fans a visual treat of their favorite graphic novel but does not really give a lot of explanation for most viewers who might think that real Spartans are naked warriors. Hopefully, nobody would think that these add-ons are true.
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