300 (2007)

"...ferocious and painterly images, with as much attention to each frame as a hand-drawn panel.  Gianni Truzzi, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"It's impossible not to be moved by its nearly nonstop visual assault.  Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
"...a huge step forward in visually sophisticated storytelling.  Lawrence Toppman, Charlotte Observer
"Like nothing you've ever seen...the future of filmmaking.  Lev Grossman, Time
"...a landmark motion picture, a spectacular visual feast that is as inventive and groundbreaking as the first Matrix.  Pete Hammond, Maxim
"...a feast for the senses...an impressive technical achievement...a hell of a lot of fun.  Pete Vonder Haar, Film Threat
"...a movie blood-drunk on its own artful excess. Guys of all ages and sexes won't be able to resist it.  Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"An incredible visual ride.  Jeffrey Lyons, NBC's Reel Talk

Editor's Note Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, 300 takes over the screen like an invading horde. With all the gushing blood of a horror movie and the scope of a classic epic, the second film from Zack Snyder (who helmed the 2004 remake of DAWN OF THE DEAD) is an impressive visual spectacle. Gerard Butler (THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA) plays Leonidas, the king of ancient Sparta. The city is famous for its warrior philosophy, and Leonidas won't kneel to the demands of Persia's King Xerxes (LOST's Rodrigo Santoro). Instead, Leonidas leads his 300-strong army against Xerxes's army of millions. Meanwhile, his wife (Lena Headley, THE BROTHERS GRIMM) campaigns in Sparta for the city to send reinforcements as she butts heads with the treacherous Theron (Dominic West, THE WIRE). With its gore and scale, 300 marks director Snyder as a possible successor to Peter Jackson's throne. Jackson also got his start in horror with BAD TASTE and DEAD ALIVE, and the two men share a penchant for ambitious battle scenes. The huge fights in 300 rival Jackson's efforts in the LORD OF THE RINGS films. David Wenham, who starred in two of the Tolkien-based films, plays Dilios, one of the Spartan soldiers. Though the cast doesn't boast any A-list stars, the actors ably fill their larger-than-life roles. In a film filled with men, Headley stands out as Queen Gorgo. She matches her warrior husband in strength, while showing love toward Leonidas and their son. Though there are scenes that demonstrate the humanity of the characters, 300 is undeniably about bravery and blood, and it succeeds because of the stylish depictions of both.

	Dominic West
	Gerard Butler
	Lena Headey
	Rodrigo Santoro
	Frank Miller - Based On Graphic Novel By
	Frank Miller - Executive Producer
	Isabelle Guay, et. al. - Art Director
	James D. Bissell - Production Designer
	Jeffrey Silver - Producer
	Larry Fong - Cinematographer
	Lynn Varley - Based On Graphic Novel By
	Tyler Bates - Original Music By
	William Hoy - Editor
	Zack Snyder - Director
	Zack Snyder, et. al. - Screenplay

USA Today
"The surreal ode to extreme combat is part Fellini freak show, part LORD OF THE RINGS-style blood feast, and all adrenaline rush....Its bruised beauty is enhanced by an inky palette..." 03/07/2007 p.1D

Rolling Stone
3 stars out of 4 -- "[Director Zack Snyder] keeps the action roaring....300 dazzles as spectacle..." 03/22/2007 p.90

Ultimate DVD
3 stars out of 5 -- "Everyone is loving 300 for perfectly valid reasons. It is a visual feast....The style exceeds mere competence and satisfies all promise." 03/01/2007 p.86

Total Film
3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t looks incredible....Not real, not surreal, 300 is something else, a hyperreal realm where myth gasps to life." 05/01/2007 p.38

Box Office
"[W]ith a visual style that injects new energy into the sword-and-sandals epic." 05/01/2007 p.76

Sight and Sound
"[I]ts technical achievement is beyond question....The film's presentation of the cities and battlegrounds of ancient Greece can only be considered a marvel, vividly rendered through a digitised expressionist palette..." 05/01/2007 p.50

Entertainment Weekly
"Snyder uses every trick in the bloodletting playbook, and invents a few new ones, to stage one of history's greatest last stands." -- Grade: B 08/10/2007 p.53

Film Comment
"[I]t is less spectacle than blood rite in which history and myth almost literally bleed into each other." 01/01/2008 p.39

ReelViews 8 of 10
Whatever else 300 may be, it is destined to become beloved for a group of devotees. The size of that group will determine whether it achieves mainstream acceptance or attains cult status. Distilled to its essence, this is a graphic novel come to life - one of those rare instances in which filmmakers seek not merely to adapt a comic book but to interpret it for the screen. Both approaches are valid and have their strengths, but 300 would not be the experience it is had it not clung to the hyper-reality of the images of Frank Miller's graphic novel. From a visual standpoint, 300 (like Sin City before it) exists at a vertex where comic books and motion pictures intersect...300 is about heroism in the face of insurmountable odds. It is a masterpiece of images, style, and testosterone. An ode to masculinity and machismo, it captivates the eye and gets the blood pumping. It is heroic spectacle at its finest...Snyder has dug deep into his bag of tricks in order to make 300 into what it is. His approach is not unlike that of Sin City and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow...The pitch Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) used to secure financing is that 300 would change the way "sword and sandal" movies were made and viewed. To an extent, he is correct: 300 is unlike any movie to have previously reached the screen. Its larger-than-life characters, frenetic action sequences, lush visuals, and unabashed embrace of the over-the-top nature of comic books makes it something to be enjoyed in a way that is normally reserved for summer blockbusters. 300 may not offer masterful storytelling in a conventional sense, but it's hard to beat as a spectacle and that makes it worthwhile viewing for all but the most squeamish of potential audience members. - James Berardinelli

Eye Weekly 8 of 10
Like Miller's graphic novel, 300 relentlessly emphasizes the Spartan ideals of valour, glory and sacrifice. The movie's exaggerated machismo may beg for an ironic attitude as counterbalance but the material is played straight-faced save for Butler's few moments of cheek. Inevitably, 300's singularity of tone and purpose makes the later stages arduous to weather. Likewise, the initially gripping scenes of mayhem feel repetitious by the time of the umpteenth impalement, such that the more unexpected images -- a boy survivor walking out of a destroyed city, a barely clad teenage girl dancing out a message from the gods -- have the most resonance...The dudes will love it anyway. Dames will, too, though that may have less to do with Snyder's decision to enlarge the role of Leonidas' wife Gorgo (Lena Headey) than 300's smorgasbord of beefcake, one largely unparalleled outside the realms of gay porn and Chippendales revues. - Jason Anderson

Chicago Sun-Times 6 of 10
I gave a four-star rating to "Sin City," the 2005 film based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller. Now, as I deserve, I get "300," based on another work by Miller. Of the earlier film, I wrote prophetically: "This isn't an adaptation of a comic book, it's like a comic book brought to life and pumped with steroids." They must have been buying steroids wholesale for "300." Every single male character, including the hunchback, has the muscles of a finalist for Mr. Universe...Both films are faithful to Miller's plots and drawings. "300," I learn, reflects the book almost panel-by-panel. They lean so heavily on CGI that many shots are entirely computer-created. Why did I like the first, and dislike the second? Perhaps because of the subject matter, always a good place to start. "Sin City," directed by Robert Rodriguez and Miller, is film noir, my favorite genre, taken to the extreme. "300," directed by Zack Snyder, is ancient carnage, my least favorite genre, taken beyond the extreme. "Sin City" has vividly-conceived characters and stylized dialogue. "300" has one-dimensional caricatures who talk like professional wrestlers plugging their next feud..."Be afraid!" they rumble, stopping just short of adding, "Be very afraid." They talk about going on the "warpath," unaware that the phrase had not yet been coined by American Indians. Their women, like Gorgo (Lena Headey), queen of Leonidas, are as bloodthirsty as their men, just like wrestler's wives...All true enough. But my deepest objection to the movie is that it is so blood-soaked. When dialogue arrives to interrupt the carnage, it's like the seventh-inning stretch. In slow motion, blood and body parts spraying through the air, the movie shows dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands, of horrible deaths. This can get depressing. - Roger Ebert