POSTED IN MEDIA...

March 15, 2007

300...a whole lotta meh

300 has been hyped up since the first images from the film hit the net about a year ago. It also cleared about $70 million in its first weekend, and it's from Zack Snyder, who did a pretty credible remake of Dawn of the Dead (no easy task) and adapted the movie from the funnybook work of Frank Miller (of Dark Knight fame.)

So I was looking forward to seeing some Spartans take on the Persian hordes in a suitably bloody fashion when I finally got around to seeing the film this Monday. Unfortunately, though 300 looks spectacular and isn't without neat moments, in total it's pretty mediocre.

For a start, the Spartans are flat out dull. They don't do much besides fight and shout and then fight some more, all the while mentioning how bad-ass they are, or alternatively flexing their abs. The Persians, by contrast, have a surfeit of cool costumes, masks, creatures and weaponry that they lob at the Spartans, as well as a 7 foot tall drag queen for a god/king. It's like the toughest mofos ever to march in a Pride parade took on a bunch of hillbillies, and we're supposed to root for the hillbillies. Frankly, I wanted the Persians to whup the Spartans but good, if only to stop all the damned shouting.

But the bigger crime of the film is that for all the posturing and cool visuals and killy-killy...it's sort of dull. I can appreciate the technical accomplishment of translating a pile of blue-screen footage into a reasonable facsimile of Mller's graphic novel, but that didn't make it any more interesting to watch.

13 comment(s) so far (Post your own)

1

On March 15, 2007 11:44 AM, FewClothes Johnson said:

Hey that was a really good summation of the movie!

2

On March 15, 2007 12:20 PM, Chris Burgess said:

Pretty meh is about what I had to say about it. More details in my blog post about it (click my name above), I'm not about to repeat them here.

Overall, I gave it a passing grade as a movie, but just barely.

3

On March 15, 2007 12:44 PM, the old ball n' chain said:

I'm really glad that 300 cleared up a lot of things for me.
1) the greeks were actually british dock workers with dusty blonde hair, blue eyes and spray on tans.
2) womens boobs, though commonly thought of as either food source or playthings are actually for predicting the future. MAGICAL
3) without the help of a hunch back in a funny cap, you will NEVER be able to find the road located 10 feet to your right.

thank you 300...

4

On March 15, 2007 1:51 PM, Chris Burgess said:

1) British dock workers led my a Scotsman (like that would ever happen in reality!)... whose story was told through the ages by Faromir from Lord of the Rings...

2) Women's boobs were shown to predict the future as far back as 1995 when Kevin Smith used that device in Mallrats...

3) Ya gots ta have your gollum ripoff or you'll never get anywhere!

5

On March 15, 2007 2:10 PM, Jonny Vancouver said:

The only good parts for me were the excessive use of violence, all the friggin' blood, and the bits of "guy" flying around as they get hacked to pieces in some shots. That and pissing off the nerds in front of us as the three of us laughed at "inappropriate" moments.

6

On March 15, 2007 11:49 PM, jabberwocky said:

1) Women boobs used to perdict the future and 2)excessive violence, well that does it for me I have to see this movie now.

7

On March 17, 2007 11:34 AM, jabberwocky said:

I vistit Applegeeks on a regular bases and I found something that made me laugh. the Spartian are really the Saiyans. http://www.applegeeks.com/blog/?p=1652

8

On March 19, 2007 9:20 AM, Warren Frey said:

Means nothing to me. Disinterest in 300 and flat out ignorance of whatever anime that's refring to = meh. :)

9

On March 19, 2007 11:04 AM, jabberwocky said:

Dragon Ball Z -

10

On March 19, 2007 12:20 PM, Warren Frey said:

Oh well then...still meh. :)

11

On March 20, 2007 8:41 AM, jabberwocky said:

you have no soul warren

12

On March 22, 2007 7:35 PM, Chris Burgess said:

Hmm, it seems a dvd screener of 300 has hit the pipes. I downloaded it and realized I can't watch this show again. It just holds no interest for multiple viewings.

13

On March 23, 2007 1:31 PM, Chris Burgess said:

FROSSSSSTING!!!!

http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1749076/

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