#101: 300 (2006) October 8, 2007
Posted by badblokebob in : Action, War, 2000s, adaptations, 4 stars, true stories, 2007, Historical , trackback2006 | Zack Snyder | 112 mins | DVD | 15 / R
Highly stylised (and praised) adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel about the battle of Thermopylae. It’s very much a Man’s Film: long graphic battles, esteemed warrior values, mostly-naked women, heavy soundtrack… This doesn’t mean it’s without virtue: it looks stunning, and while the slow motion may be overused it creates some beautiful tableaus. There’s even room for characterisation among the soldiers; these arcs may be familiar, but for once the filmmakers seem aware of that and keep such scenes to an appropriate, deftly handled minimum.
The slight plot may be stretched a bit thin and the closing speech is sadly over-written, but 300 is nonetheless an enjoyable, and surprisingly pretty, minor epic.
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[…] We begin with what will likely be the first in an on/off series I like to call “Films From This Year That I Missed At The Cinema And Am Finally Seeing When They Hit DVD”… though this one’s technically from 2006. But it didn’t arrive over here until March 2007, so, y’know, it still counts. […]