Mr Campbell
ELA P3
3/11/2015
The 2006 film 300, directed by Zack Snyder, is a movie based on the war between the Greeks and the Persians in 480 B.C. Within the mountain pass of Thermopylae, several Greek villages and farmers joined forces and fought against the invading Persians army. King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) of Sparta brought an army of 300 Spartan men to fight— along with the allied Greek villages. After they witness the destruction of a neighboring town, as well as a standing tower-like tree constructed of fresh corpses and spears, they marched onward to fight the overpowering masses of the Persians, exploiting their Spartan and Greek cultures during the battle.
The movie was based on all the known facts about the war, both the legends and the facts of the event and made it very captivating, interesting, and drawing. The intensity of the film made you sit on the edge of your seat, with a fair amount of believable gore, Spartan skills, Persian myths and deformities. You simply want to see what will happen next and how the battle will end. In my opinion, this film is one of the best historical films I've seen, even if it is not the typical-type documentary. This had explained plenty about the time period, the war, the myths and both cultures. They did a tremendous job.
300 had unbelievably believable characters; their acting seemed so spot-on on my end, it was as though I was watching the actual war in progress. Their speech and how they carried themselves through the film was very well done, though I couldn't possibly know all the details that had occurred in that area. The dialogue was that of old times and the accents added to the realistic effect. Although the main character was King Leonidas, at times it went from scene-to-scene, like from the battle grounds, to the Persian army, to back in Sparta, and flashbacks at certain points. In each of these listed scenes, there are more or less a different character that is the center of attention.
Looking for a chance to stand out can be very difficult; looking for a chance to stand up can be disastrous. The way the actors played to characters in the movie, how they distinguished who was who, and how you could feel raw emotion coming from their big scenes was epic. The costumes that they wore portrayed the ancient times and their cultural wear; the Spartans sporting mainly short leather pants (that happen to resemble men speedos) long red capes, shoes and their gear which consisted of their swords, daggers, shields, and their helmets when necessary. The Queen of the Spartans, Gorgo (Lena Headley) wore very extravagant flowing dresses that are supported around her shoulders like curtains. The God-King of the Persian Empire, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), had a shaven head, mainly golden bracelets and chains that he dressed in, piercings, and a large ax-shaped blade he carried with him many times. For the locations given during the film, they resembled many landscapes that we see today, but different all the same, considering the events happened in 480 B.C. From light, bright fields to dark, stormy mountain passes and destroyed landscapes, 300 took everything into perspective. All this made the film more eye-capturing.
During the battles between the Persian empire and the small Greek army, the sound effects they used while slaying their enemies were well used, detailing what is happening during the film without having to see it with your own eyes. The camera angles they used for the different shots helped the effect, giving you a better view of the conflict, the expressions on the characters faces, and the landscape. The little parts of the film where they added the lighting to distort certain areas and focus on others made things seem more dramatic, and everyone, in a way, loves drama.
As a result, I think 300 was an impressive movie, even if others may not agree because of the gore and the scenes. I would gladly watch it again, and I hope they make a sequel to the second movie, 300: Rise of an Empire. I give this movie two thumbs up, consider it an A worthy movie, and rate it 4.8 stars out of 5. Nothing can be perfect, but it does take some very good quality to make it this high in my movie list ratings. To any of those who are reading this review, I highly recommend this movie to you if you enjoy action, drama, some gore and historical events.
To find out more about this movie, see photos and the actors, and more, click the following link:
http://www.300themovie.com/