Movie Review – 300: Rise of An Empire

March 7, 2014

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“300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE” delivers a high-impact punch for all lovers of 300 and Zach Snyder. There’s not a dull moment in this fast paced sequel with battle scenes galore! Sexy shot after shot with eye candy for all.

Do not be fooled however. “300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE” isn’t for historians and purists, but rather for an intense rush of battle scenes and cartoonish violence. The film is based off of Frank Miller’s graphic novel like the first “300” and creates a world one should expect. This story takes the visual style, action, and the idea of many nearly naked chiseled Greek-men then puts them out to sea for new battles.

Snyder and Kurt Johnstad created an exciting screenplay with all new characters due to the ending of the first “300” and builds of the original Spartan pride without cramming the “Sparta” down audiences throats. The story doesn’t feel forced yet remains fast and thrilling throughout thanks to Noam Murrow’s (“Smart People”) epic-film directorial debut.

“300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE” sees Greek general Thermistokles, SULLIVAN STAPLETON (“Gangster Squad”) leading the charge against invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes, RODRIGO SANTORO, and Artemisia played by the gorgeous EVA GREEN, vengeful fierce female commander of the Persian navy.

Green really kicks this story up a notch or three! Not only is her story interesting but her character overall presence is captivating and incredibly sexy. Get ready some steamy scenes between her and Stapleton. Here you see that this is truly a flick to see more for entertainment value then any historical significance or deep substance. It’s just downright hot and action-packed.

It will be good to note that this really falls under the same ridiculous blood shedding style of Quentin Tarantino’s films as him and Frank Miller have collaborated in the past. This isn’t meant to be realistic. In fact, you may need to suspend your disbelief more than the film tells you to. The blood splatters along the logo don’t even come close to reaching the magnitude of the amount of blood to expect in this film. By the end you you will have become numb to the violence creating a lackluster of excitement that should come from it.

The similar effect happens with the stunning 3D effects that are in place a little too often. For instance, at the beginning you’ll see every dust particle reflecting all types of light creating depth of each scene, however it becomes distracting as this effect is used in every single scene. It was cool for awhile, but later I found myself just wanting to see an unobstructed view of the shot. I’ll admit though, the film in it’s entirety is frankly beautiful. If you dislike the HDR look of photos though, this may just annoy you.

The films first half remains a little slow, but stays action-packed from then on. While I found “300” fun, I found it uninspiring. I was worried “RISE OF AN EMPIRE” would be a quick couple of ram bam fights and minimum story and without something to takeaway. Luckily, the film is so much more and the right length. Any fan of Snyder or Miller or even epic-battle films needs to take a night off from the real world and see it. Bring the girlfriend, she’ll have plenty to drool over too.

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