300: A Review

You should know some things before going into this movie. It is based on a graphic novel; there are some fantasy elements in it. While the battle actually happened in history, however the movie is not historically accurate. Why would some of the best warriors in the known world at that time not wear any body armor? They may be the delta force of their time, but they are definitely not stupid enough to go against the biggest army of the time without body armor. There is also no mention of the sea battle that was going on at the same the 300 Spartans were battling it out. The reason for the use of only 300 Spartans was not really because the oracle said the army could not march, but because they were battling it out in a mountain pass. It only takes a small amount of forces to hold off an army of thousands. As said in the movie the Persians, numbers meant nothing. In addition, Xerxes is not stupid enough to send his calvary into a mountain pass; there is not enough room for them to maneuver.
While there are a number of historical inaccuracies within the movie, one cannot write the movie off for that. The battle sequences were well done, showing exactly what battle would have been like in 480 B.C. There is an ebb and flow in battle. There is a lot of violence, with a lot of dismembering of Persians. There is a beheading of a Spartan and several beheadings of Persians. Although, there is a lot of dismemberments in the movie there is not a whole lot of blood. The director, Zack Snyder, had the blood digitally animated so he could control it in each and every shot. This leaves the movie with the artistic look of a graphic novel, which is what Snyder was going for.
Cinematographically this movie looks beautiful. Each frame could be its own painting. It does have a small comic book feel to the visuals, but supposedly each shot is based off each frame of the graphic novel. With a few extra thrown in to help the plot line.
If you are looking for an epic movie that has a lot of heart-pounding action scenes, equally placed with dialogue then this movie is for you. However, if you are looking for a movie that is full of action-scenes, good dialogue, and turns into soft-core porn 15-minutes into it, then what is wrong with you?
The last thing to know before watching this movie is it is rated R not for the violence but because of the sexuality and nudity. The MPAA stated that it contains some sexuality and nudity. I do not call a lesbian, Persian orgy some sexuality and nudity. That is a lot of sexuality and nudity. Ten to fifteen minutes into the movie, King Leonidas goes to visit the Ephors and they consult the oracle. The oracle does her seductive dance topless. Well, not completely topless, she is wearing a cloth that is so sheer she might as well be topless. The very next scene starts with Leonidas talking with his wife that suddenly turns into a sex scene. While I am happy that Hollywood is showing a sex scene between a husband and wife, I did not need to see it shown so graphically. Let us not forget that at the end of the movie a council member rapes the queen. Thankfully, the director has the decency not to show this, he does show the beginning of it. Everyone in the audience knows what happened. I do not think I need to talk about the lesbian orgy scene. All that needs to be said is it is explicit.
What could have potentially been a good movie that I would want to own on DVD is not due to the nudity and the explicit sex scenes. If anyone has not seen this movie, know what you are getting into before watching it. Do not go and see it if you can help it. I do not recommend it at all.