300 (R)

“300” is directed by Zack Snyder and stars Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, and Dominic West. The plot of this film is fairly straightforward: An approaching Persian army seeks to enslave the Spartan civilization, so their leader Leonidas (Gerard Butler) takes as many soldiers as the government will allow (300), and heads off to defend Sparta for as long as he can. I say as long as he can because the Persian army is enormous, and with only 300 soldiers, how long can you expect to last? These soldiers left not thinking they’d be returning. The film is based on a graphic novel, which is inspired by a true story.

“300” became famous for its amazing battle sequences, and when I watched this film for the first time last week, it did not disappoint. The battles in this movie are awesome, some of the best ever put to film. Some viewers may be disappointed because there really isn’t any fighting for the first half of the movie; the first half is all set up. The second half is basically a giant battle. So if you haven’t seen this movie, you’ve been warned.

The cinematography in this movie is really cool and there’s a very unique and epic look to it which really sets the mood for the film. A lot of this is stolen from the graphic novel by Frank Miller; in fact that leads into one of the big problems with this film: it’s too faithful of an adaptation.

From the very first moment to the very last there is an ongoing voice over done by David Wenham, and one can’t help but wonder if the screenwriter didn’t just take the words from the comic and slap them onto the script. The voice over gets annoying and unnecessary most of the time. For a medium like film, especially with Zack Snyder’s visual fetishes, do we really need a voice to tell us exactly what’s happening the entire film? Shouldn’t the images speak for themselves? And shouldn’t the writer of the film be smart enough to tell a story visually without having to narrate the entire thing for the viewer? This isn’t the first time Zack Snyder has tried to adapt something and kind of ruined it. It feels like he just took the comic and made a movie of it, instead of adding or changing things to make it into a good movie.

Because of this, viewers will probably feel bored at times, especially during the setup. Snyder doesn’t do anything to make us care about these Spartan warriors, other than show they want to protect their families. For some that may be enough, others might find the film lacking in interesting characters and character development, especially from their leader, Leonidas. I’m not against cool battle sequences and war movies… quite the opposite. But the best war movies are the ones that are story driven and make the viewer care about these characters. If you care about the characters, the stakes are raised, because you actually care what happens to them. And if it’s a war movie, chances are there’s going to be a lot of close calls and chances for death. That’s how suspense is made. Think “Lord of the Rings.” You care about those people, you understand them and their motivations. So when Gandalf falls to his death in the mines of Moria, it’s a very sad moment. Viewers won’t feel that sadness in “300.”

Leonidas starts off as a leader who wants to protect his people, even if he has to die trying, and that’s exactly how he ends. There is a very important moment when the Persian King says he’ll let Leonidas’ men live if Leonidas surrenders. Leonidas takes off his armor, throws down his sword, and bows. It seemed like a very important character moment where this warrior is actually changing and has decided to save his men, but then the voice over kicks in and we learn that Leonidas is actually just playing around and hasn’t changed at all. He then stands up and throws his spear right past the King’s head. What could have been a significant character moment where Leonidas makes a choice turns into just another scene.

“300” is a visually stunning and influential war movie, if nothing more. The story had the potential to be so much more than that, but due to Zack Snyder’s emphasis on pretty pictures over good storytelling, the film turns from what could have been an incredible character driven historical war tragedy based on one of the most epic battles in history into just another war movie, albeit one with really cool fight scenes.