Monday, March 12, 2007

300 Could Have Been 300 Times Better

I think most of your action-minded fans were geared up to see 300, and, from the looks of the box office, I think most of them did. (With the exception of anyone in Iran, which disapproves of the movie's portrayal of its ancient Persian ancestors. That and the fact I believe it's against the law to watch movies over there.) And The Girl and I were two of the several million that went to see it.

If you love medieval war violence, this is your movie. If you're looking for a well-made movie, well, not so much. While it's nice to look at, with all of its sepia-toned, computer-generated landscapes and armies, its plotting is something that may have been generated by a computer as well. Here's a quick plot summation: Greeks kill hundreds of Persians in battle; Greeks talk about how easy that battle was; Xerxes gets angry over his army's losses; a quick scene of how things are going back in Sparta; repeat until everyone's dead. It's also fairly predictable, even without having read Frank Miller's book. If you can't predict that the hideous freak is going to turn traitor, you may want to consult a neurologist, because your brain has stopped functioning.

I figured after the last outstanding adaptation of a Frank Miller comic that this one would be good as well. But, as anyone who's seen Daredevil or Electra can attest, they usually don't turn out that well. C'est la vie.

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