300 04/04/07

This movie certainly wasn't the least bit boring when I was watching it, but the impact of the movie doesn't last too long outside the theater. In fact, a review of the movie right after seeing it would be much more celebratory than one given a little more thought a few days later. Unfortunately for the esteem of the movie this is a few days later.
First of all, as I'm sure everyone is saying, the visuals are stunning. This is the same green screen process that gave us Sin City. These two movies have so many special effects that one can no longer call the effects special. There used in every shot and I've heard the actors never left the studio during this film. The waves of golden grain are extra golden, the seas are extra stormy, the beautiful pagans are super beautiful, and the ugly people are super ugly. The action shots are mainly shown in glorious slow motion and the blood flies artfully. 
What lacks are real people. The men are so super macho that any time they talk the conversations are exaltedly stilted. When gods speak they don't sound like humans, neither do these people. When they try to make small talk and joke around, it seems really out of place. The main characther, the king called Leonidas, is unabashedly Scottish not Spartan. as if the Scots are the modern day stereotype for the craziest fucking white men around. This notion seems to come directly from the movie Braveheart, which I thought of several times during the film, especially when Leonidas preaches about freedom. Freedom, historically speaking, would have been the last thing on the Spartans mind by the way (The Scottish too actually.) Sparta was a slave/military state. The last thing they'd ever talk about was freedom. 
And what the hell is with the ugly people. The ugly people in this film aren't just repulsive, they're downright disgusting. and there is a hell of a lot of them. This is totally uncalled for. Repent Frank Miller, Repent! I don't pay money to watch people with assymetrical bodies become sexually aroused. Not my cup of tea. 
Having said all this, the technology shown in this movie looks really promising and I can definitely see great movies coming out of this process in the near future. They have to make sure all the traditional bases are covered first. Then give us glorius decaptiations as a bonus.