by Isabella Jordan Directed by Zack Snyder. Starring Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, and more. Based on Frank Miller's very graphic novel, 300 portrays the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae. The King of Sparta leads his army against the advancing Persians in a battle said to have inspired all of Greece to band together against the foe. Sounds like the other great epics you've seen? Well this isn't Braveheart so stop right there. Basically I loved this movie. And I hated it. So what's to love? First, the obvious. Good looking, scantily clad Spartan warriors led by Gerard Butler as King Leonidas. Any flaw in this film is almost forgivable because of this for any hot blooded woman. Honestly. I even though Vincent Regan, The Captain, looked good though most probably remember him better as Eudorus in 2004's Troy. If you get nothing else from this movie, you can at least enjoy watching the fellows. While that's not a big draw for male movie goers, the movie's lone sex scene should appeal to them. It was very creative and a good length but wasn't overtly graphic and didn't feature a lot of nudity. Very tasteful and worth noting.

And last, but certainly not least, the big draw across the board is the unique visual effects presented in this film that took over one year in post-production and involved ten special effects vendors that were spread out over three continents. This film is certainly worth viewing for the visual spectacle it offers alone. The battle scenes with the stop motion sequences were impressive, the visual style captivating, and I really liked the way they presented Xerxes. Very impressive.

Okay, so why did I hate it? Very easy. It left me almost totally emotionally detached. Only two scenes in the movie came close to making me feel something and neither of them involved the king, the main character of this movie. Sure, as soon as it ended, I was thinking "let's do that again!"

But was it because the I felt so passionately about the Spartans' plight? Well, no. At the movie's beginning they explain in some detail how the soldiers are trained from childhood to feel nothing, no pain, no fear. Only pride and the willingness to sacrifice oneself for Sparta.

Was it because of the great romance between the king and his queen? Well, it was apparent that they loved each other but again, I felt little. He was heading into a battle that only had one outcome whether you knew the history or not. There wasn't a lot of time spent on developing character relationships and only a small amount spent on character motivations. It's not even fair to say this is a "boy movie" all consumed by action, because it really tries to be so many things.

But in an effort to be so many great things in a historical epic in the same field as Braveheart or Gladiator it falls short. Then again, I don't think it was meant to be like those movies. I think it was intended to be a virtual reality comic book tale. From that point of view, just maybe it works.

Considering the script they had, the acting was as good as it could be. Gerard Butler struggled to keep his Scottish brogue out of the way but slipped a couple of times. It's okay. We barely noticed, right? =) Lena Heady did an admirable job as Queen Gorgo and I'd also like to give kudos to David Wenham who manages to get attention in any role he takes on - and he's got a diverse resume.

This film certainly earned its R rating for graphic violence in the many battle scenes, decapitation, impaling, and most any other battle injury or death you could dream up. There is also the afore mentioned sex scene. This is not a film for the teens who'd probably love to see it as an action adventure/special effects spectacular.

The movie comes in at just under two hours and I'm sure that was plenty long enough for the people who worked so hard to give it its unique style. This reviewer, however, wouldn't have minded seeing what they could have done with a little more time to develop relationships within the story.

Best lines:

Queen Gorgo: Freedom is not free, it requires great sacrifice. The price is paid in blood.

Isy