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I gave a four-star rating to " Sin City ," the 2005 film based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller . Now, as I deserve, I get "300," based on another work by Miller. Of the earlier film, I wrote prophetically: "This isn't an adaptation of a comic book, it's like a comic book brought to life and pumped with steroids." They must have been buying steroids wholesale for "300." Every single male character, including the hunchback, has the muscles of a finalist for Mr. Universe.

Both films are faithful to Miller's plots and drawings. "300," I learn, reflects the book almost panel-by-panel. They lean so heavily on CGI that many shots are entirely computer-created. Why did I like the first, and dislike the second? Perhaps because of the subject matter, always a good place to start. "Sin City," directed by Robert Rodriguez and Miller, is film noir, my favorite genre, taken to the extreme. "300," directed by Zack Snyder , is ancient carnage, my least favorite genre, taken beyond the extreme. "Sin City" has vividly- conceived characters and stylized dialogue. "300" has one-dimensional caricatures who talk like professional wrestlers plugging their next feud.

The movie involves a legendary last stand by 300 death-obsessed Spartans against a teeming horde of Persians. So brave and strong are the Spartans that they skewer, eviscerate, behead and otherwise inconvenience tens of thousands of Persians before finally falling to the weight of overwhelming numbers. The lesson is that the Spartans are free, and the Persians are slaves, although the Spartan idea of freedom is not appetizing (children are beaten to toughen them).

But to return to those muscles. Although real actors play the characters and their faces are convincing, I believe their bodies are almost entirely digital creations. They have Schwarzeneggerian biceps, and every last one of them, even the greybeards, wear well-defined six- packs on their abs. I can almost believe the star, Gerard Butler , may have been working out at Gold's Gym ever since he starred as the undernourished Phantom of the Opera, but not 300, 200 or even 100 extras. As a result, every single time I regarded the Spartans in a group, I realized I was seeing artistic renderings, not human beings.

Well, maybe that was the idea.

The movie presents other scenes of impossibility. Look at the long- shots of the massed Persians. There are so many they would have presented a logistical nightmare: How to feed and water them? Consider the slave-borne chariot that Xerxes pulls up in. It is larger that the imperial throne in the Forbidden City, with a wide staircase leading up to Xerxes. Impressive, but how could such a monstrosity be lugged all the way from Persia to Greece? I am not expected to apply such logic, I know, but the movie flaunts its preposterous effects.

And what about Xerxes ( Rodrigo Santoro ) himself? He stands around eight feet tall, I guess, which is good for 500 B.C. (Santoro's height in life: 6 feet, 2.75 inches). He towers over Leonidas (Butler), so we know his body isn't really there. But what of his face? I am just about prepared to believe that the ancient Persians went in for the piercing of ears, cheeks, eyebrows, noses, lips and chins. But his eyebrow have been plucked and re-drawn into black arches that would make Joan Crawford envious. And what about the mascara and the cute little white lines on the eyelids? When the Spartans describe the Athenians as "philosophers and boy-lovers," I wish they had gone right ahead to discuss the Persians.

The Spartans travel light. They come bare-chested, dressed in sandals, bikini briefs and capes. They carry swords and shields. At the right time, they produce helmets which must have been concealed in their loincloths. Also apples. And from the looks of them, protein shakes. They are very athletic, able to construct a towering wall of thousands of dead Persians in hours, even after going to all the trouble of butchering them. When they go into battle, their pep talks sound like the screams of drunken sports fans swarming onto the field.

They talk, as I suggested, like pro wrestlers, touting the big showdown between Edge and The Undertaker. "Be afraid!" they rumble, stopping just short of adding, "Be very afraid." They talk about going on the "warpath," unaware that the phrase had not yet been coined by American Indians. Their women, like Gorgo ( Lena Headey ), queen of Leonidas, are as bloodthirsty as their men, just like wrestler's wives.

All true enough. But my deepest objection to the movie is that it is so blood-soaked. When dialogue arrives to interrupt the carnage, it's like the seventh-inning stretch. In slow motion, blood and body parts spraying through the air, the movie shows dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands, of horrible deaths. This can get depressing.

In old movies, ancient Greeks were usually sort of noble. Now they have become lager louts. They celebrate a fascist ideal. They assume a bloodthirsty audience, or one suffering from attention deficit (how many disembowelings do you have to see to get the idea?). They have no grace and wisdom in their speech. Nor dignity in their bearing: They strut with arrogant pride. They are a nasty bunch. As Joe Mantegna says in " House of Games ," "You're a bad pony, and I'm not gonna bet on you." That's right before he dies, of course.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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300 movie poster

Rated R violence, nudity, sexuality

117 minutes

Andrew Tiernan as Ephialtes

Lena Headey as Gorgo

Vincent Regan as Captain

Gerard Butler as Leonidas

Peter Mensah as Messenger

Michael Fassbender as Stelios

Andrew Pleavin as Daxos

Dominic West as Theron

David Wenham as Dilios

Tom Wisdom as Astinos

Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes

Stephen McHattie as Loyalist

Screenplay by

  • Michael B. Gordon
  • Kurt Johnstad

Directed by

  • Zack Snyder

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Bloody, fanboyish retelling of an ancient battle.

300 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Themes of underdog heroism and not bowing to corru

Even in the face of sure defeat, brave soldiers st

Over-the-top battle-scene violence, including grap

Extended love scene between Leonidas and the queen

Colorfully worded insults like: "motherless dogs,"

Parents need to know that this is no Masterpiece Theater rendition of ancient history. Like Sin City , 300 is an ultraviolent tale based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller. There's blood galore as the Spartans -- trained war machines -- defend their land against Xerxes' massive Persian army…

Positive Messages

Themes of underdog heroism and not bowing to corruption get a little lost in the blood and gore.

Positive Role Models

Even in the face of sure defeat, brave soldiers stand firm against tyrannous threats to freedom. A corrupt Spartan councilman is exposed as a traitor and brought to justice. But also some stereotyping based on Asian culture, as well as one character's physical disability.

Violence & Scariness

Over-the-top battle-scene violence, including graphic decapitations, severed limbs, mutilated bodies piled high, arrow-filled torsos, etc. Young Spartan boys are forced to furiously fight each other. The Spartan mottos are "No retreat, no surrender" and "No prisoners, no mercy."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Extended love scene between Leonidas and the queen; viewers can see her nude breasts and his butt. The adolescent Oracle writhes and sways while wearing a sheer cloth that reveals her breasts. A character unwillingly has sex to procure a politician's favor. Although no nudity is shown in that scene, the aggressor whispers menacingly: "This will not be fast. You will not enjoy this." Xerxes' lair is depicted like an orgy, with various half-dressed Persian women kissing, moaning, and having sex.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Colorfully worded insults like: "motherless dogs," "philosophers and boy-lovers," etc.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this is no Masterpiece Theater rendition of ancient history. Like Sin City , 300 is an ultraviolent tale based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller. There's blood galore as the Spartans -- trained war machines -- defend their land against Xerxes' massive Persian army. Battlefield valor and violence is glorified by the Spartans, who take no prisoners and show no mercy. Heads literally roll, blood splatters, exotic animals are sliced and speared. Many, many soldiers on either side die gruesomely. If on-screen death and war -- even one so stylized and cartoonish at times -- is too disturbing a subject matter for your kids (or you!), this bloodfest isn't a safe bet. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

  • Parents say (34)
  • Kids say (108)

Based on 34 parent reviews

It's soooooo heavy handed

What's the story.

Adapting Frank Miller's graphic novel 300, Snyder takes a hyperstylized visual approach to depicting the famed Battle of Thermopylae, where King Leonidas ( Gerard Butler ) and his 300 elite personal guards defied their Oracle and the odds to wage war against Xerxes' huge, unrelenting Persian army. Faced with the choice of submitting to Xerxes (Brazilian Lost regular Rodrigo Santoro, rendered nearly unrecognizable in earrings and eye makeup) or waging war, Leonidas makes the only choice a warrior-king can: fight. Leonidas and his personal detachment, led by his captain (fine character actor Vincent Regan) and Dilios (David Wenham), discover that although they're grossly outnumbered, they can funnel the enemy into the Hot Gates (the literal translation of "Thermopylae"), a narrow pass where the Spartans' special-forces skills will crush wave after wave of the Persians. And, oh, how they crush. It's impressive and disarming to see the 300 delight in the "glory" of warfare. The Spartans, so drunk on warlust that they dismember, skewer, decapitate, and spear the enemy -- whether it's human, animal, or something in between -- are brave, but also a bit mad. What the Spartans want (unlike the Arcadians, a group of fellow Greeks that joins them) is not to survive but to "die a beautiful death" in battle.

Is It Any Good?

At times engrossing and at times laughably over-the-top, 300 is entertaining as an extended war sequence. However, the film falls short of reaching the revolutionary Matrix -like status that the film's creators claim. The whole segment in Xerxes' lair, with its hedonistic sensuality, smacks of stereotypical Orientalism, not to mention some of the grossly depicted Persian soldiers and the disfigured hunchback who plays a central role.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the Spartans' upbringing and values. Why are 7-year-olds forced to fight each other -- and adults?

Xerxes offers Leonidas what sounds like a sweet deal; why does the king, facing certain death, turn it down?

Movie Details

  • In theaters : March 8, 2007
  • On DVD or streaming : July 31, 2007
  • Cast : David Wenham , Gerard Butler , Lena Headey
  • Director : Zack Snyder
  • Inclusion Information : Female actors
  • Studio : Warner Bros.
  • Genre : Action/Adventure
  • Run time : 117 minutes
  • MPAA rating : R
  • MPAA explanation : graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity.
  • Last updated : February 8, 2024

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Review: The '300': Ah, the fine-looking fighters of freedom-loving Sparta

By A.O. Scott

  • March 8, 2007

300 Directed by Zack Snyder

The film "300" is about as violent as "Apocalypto" and twice as stupid. Adapted from a graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, it offers up a bombastic spectacle of honor and betrayal, rendered in images that might have been airbrushed onto a customized van sometime in the late 1970s. The basic story is a good deal older. It's all about the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, which unfolded at a narrow pass on the coast of Greece whose name translates as Hot Gates.

Hot Gates, indeed! Devotees of the pectoral, deltoid and other fine muscle groups will find much to savor as King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) leads 300 prime Spartan porterhouses into battle against Persian forces commanded by Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), a decadent self-proclaimed deity who wants, as all good movie villains do, to rule the world.

The Persians, pioneers in the art of facial piercing, have vastly greater numbers — including ninjas, dervishes, elephants, a charging rhino and an angry bald giant — but the Spartans clearly have superior health clubs and electrolysis facilities. They also hew to a warrior ethic of valor and freedom that makes them, despite their gleeful appetite for killing, the good guys in this tale. (It may be worth pointing out that unlike their mostly black and brown foes, the Spartans and their fellow Greeks are white.)

But not all the Spartans back in Sparta support their king on his mission. A gaggle of sickly, corrupt priests, bought off by the Persians, consult an oracular exotic dancer whose topless gyrations lead to a warning against going to war. And the local council is full of appeasers and traitors, chief among them a sardonic, shifty-eyed smoothy named Theron (Dominic West).

Too cowardly to challenge Leonidas man to man, he fixes his attention on Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), a loyal wife and Spartan patriot who fights the good fight on the home front. Gorgo understands her husband's noble purpose. "Come home with your shield or on it," she tells him as he heads off into battle after a night of somber marital whoopee. Later she observes that "freedom is not free."

Another movie — Matt Stone and Trey Parker's "Team America," whose wooden puppets were more compelling actors than most of the cast of "300" — calculated the cost at $1.05. I would happily pay a nickel less, in quarters or arcade tokens, for a vigorous 10-minute session with the video game that "300" aspires to become. Its digitally tricked-up color scheme, while impressive at times, is hard to tolerate for nearly two hours, and the hectic battle scenes would be much more exciting in the first person. I want to chop up some Persians too!

There are a few combat sequences that achieve a grim, brutal grandeur, notably an early engagement in which the Spartans, hunkered behind their shields, push back against a Persian line, forcing enemy soldiers off a cliff into the water. The big idea, spelled out over and over in voice-over and dialogue in case the action is too subtle, is that the free, manly men of Sparta fight harder and more valiantly than the enslaved masses under Xerxes' command. Allegory hunters will find some gristly morsels of topicality, but you can find many of the same themes, conveyed with more nuance and irony, in a Pokémon cartoon.

Zack Snyder's first film, a remake of George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead," showed wit as well as technical dexterity. While some of that filmmaking acumen is evident here, the script for "300," which he wrote with Kurt Johnstad and Michael Gordon, is weighed down by the lumbering portentousness of the original book.

In time, "300" may find its cultural niche as an object of camp derision, like the sword-and-sandals epics of an earlier, pre-computer-generated-imagery age. At present, though, its muscle-bound, grunting self-seriousness is more tiresome than entertaining. Go tell the Spartans, whoever they are, to stay home and watch wrestling.

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300: Rise of an Empire

2014, Action/Adventure, 1h 43m

What to know

Critics Consensus

It's bound to hit some viewers as an empty exercise in stylish gore, and despite a gonzo starring performance from Eva Green, 300: Rise of an Empire is a step down from its predecessor. Read critic reviews

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300: rise of an empire videos, 300: rise of an empire   photos.

While King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans have their date with destiny at Thermopylae, another battle against the Persians is brewing, this time at sea. Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton), a Greek general, sees the threat posed by the God-King Xerxes of Persia. He knows that he must unite all of Greece if he is to stand any chance of repelling the Persian invasion. Even if he accomplishes his mission, Themistocles must still face Artemisia (Eva Green), the ruthless leader of the Persian armada.

Rating: R (Nudity|A Sex Scene|Some Language|Stylized Bloody Violence)

Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama

Original Language: English

Director: Noam Murro

Producer: Gianni Nunnari , Mark Canton , Zack Snyder , Deborah Snyder , Bernie Goldmann

Writer: Zack Snyder , Kurt Johnstad

Release Date (Theaters): Mar 7, 2014  wide

Release Date (Streaming): Dec 14, 2015

Box Office (Gross USA): $106.6M

Runtime: 1h 43m

Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures

Production Co: Cruel and Unusual Films, Mark Canton/Gianna Nunnari

Sound Mix: Datasat, Dolby Digital

Cast & Crew

Sullivan Stapleton

Themistokles

Lena Headey

Queen Gorgo

Hans Matheson

Callan Mulvey

David Wenham

Rodrigo Santoro

Jack O'Connell

Andrew Tiernan

King Darius

Andrew Pleavin

Peter Mensah

Persian Emissary

General Artaphernes

Ashraf Barhom

General Bandari

Christopher Sciueref

General Kashani

Zack Snyder

Screenwriter

Kurt Johnstad

Gianni Nunnari

Mark Canton

Deborah Snyder

Bernie Goldmann

Thomas Tull

Executive Producer

Frank Miller

Stephen Jones

Simon Duggan

Cinematographer

Patrick Tatopoulos

Production Design

Wyatt Smith

Film Editing

David Brenner

Alexandra Byrne

Costume Design

Original Music

Supervising Art Direction

News & Interviews for 300: Rise of an Empire

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Critic Reviews for 300: Rise of an Empire

Audience reviews for 300: rise of an empire.

Did Frank Miller really approve this? Drawing from an unpublished sequel to 300, 300: Rise of an Empire (the title is meaningless) is a follow up to the first film where the Spartans have died. Now the other Greek city states must unite against the invading Persians and their allies. Eva Green was beautiful and she performed a role that is totally outcasted perfectly. Sullivan Stapleton had a good performance but his figure really didn't suit the role of Themistocles. Aside from the unnecessary gore and sex, it was quite entertaining.

film review 300

The ties to the chronologically simultaneously happening original film are actually pretty well done. The story is not as straight forward and the visuals not quite as unique and striking, but still pretty impressive. The action is top notch, though and while some dialogs are just as shallow in their "die for honor" pathos the result is overall really entertaining. The end comes a little suddenly, while I would have been okay with following those battles a little longer. Still, pretty decent.

If you took the greatness of the first 300 film, watered it down, added Greek ships but still managed to toss in some good female nudity, you'd get this film. Not nearly as good as the first one, but still fairly entertaining if you have nothing to do on a rainy afternoon besides folding laundry.

Eva Green's performance is the only thing that will keep you watching.

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film review 300

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film review 300

In Theaters

  • Gerard Butler as King Leonidas; Lena Headey as Queen Gorgo; Dominic West as Theron; David Wenham as Dilios; Vincent Regan as Captain; Michael Fassbender as Stelios; Tom Wisdom as Astinos; Andrew Pleavin as Daxos; Andrew Tiernan as Ephialtes; Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes; Stephen McHattie as Loyalist

Home Release Date

  • Zack Snyder

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  • Warner Bros.

Movie Review

“Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here, obedient to their laws, we lie.”

So says a stone epitaph in Thermopylae, Greece, commemorating 300 Spartan warriors who sacrificed their lives in an epic battle against the invading forces of the Persian king Xerxes in 480 B.C. Based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City) , 300 mythologizes and immortalizes these soldiers’ absolute commitment to secure their homeland from tyranny.

The story begins amid political discord. On the eve of Xerxes’ invasion, a Spartan oracle has foretold doom if the city’s king, Leonidas, sallies forth into combat during an important religious festival. But the ferocious Leonidas—the epitome of Sparta’s fiercely disciplined martial culture—puts little stock in the gods’ supposed warning. Defying the oracle and the city’s governing council, Leonidas takes leave of his wife, Queen Gorgo (a lioness in her own right), and marches with 300 men from his personal guard to meet the enemy.

Leonidas’ plan to defeat Xerxes’ 100-nation force—which numbers in the hundreds of thousands—requires defending a narrow mountain pass near the sea known as the Hot Gates— Thermopylae in Greek. Joined by 700 volunteer fighters from Thespiae, Leonidas and his professional soldiers prepare to take their stand. Defeat is likely, but they believe their sacrifice will buy time for the city-states of Greece to rally a larger army (a cause Gorgo pursues in her husband’s absence).

The Spartans’ fabled military prowess handily repels the first waves of Xerxes’ army. Neither Xerxes’ elite “Immortal” troops, cavalry, a rhinoceros nor even elephants can dislodge Leonidas and his men from the pass. Enter: treachery and betrayal. History (and this movie) tells the rest.

Positive Elements

Leonidas and Gorgo repeatedly make impassioned speeches about the values Sparta holds dear. These include glory, reason, justice, respect, family and freedom. Bravery is hardly a strong enough word to describe these warriors’ fearlessness. Dying on Sparta’s behalf is the highest possible honor, which yields statements such as Gorgo’s words to her husband as he departs: “Come back with your shield or on it.”

Spartan war tactics depend on interdependence. Leonidas says, “A Spartan’s strength is the warrior next to him.” The king’s willingness to sacrifice himself for his men contrasts with Xerxes’ megalomania; the Persian ruler willingly sends hundreds to their death with no concern for their welfare. The only men Leonidas invites to join his war party are those with sons, lest any family’s line be wiped out.

Leonidas and Gorgo enjoy a strong marriage as equals (in a culture that’s known for generally treating women as second-class citizens). Leonidas also displays affection for his 6-year-old son. And he teaches him, “Fear is constant. Accepting it makes you stronger.”

A soldier known as Captain regrets never telling his son, who’s perished in battle, how he truly felt. “I don’t regret that he died. I regret that I never told him I loved him the most. He stood by me with honor. He [represented] all that was best in me.” A mortally wounded Spartan says to his king, “It is an honor to die by your side.” Leonidas replies, “It’s an honor to have lived at yours.” The only words Leonidas wants delivered to his people are simply, “Remember us.”

Spiritual Elements

Spiritual content in 300 revolves around two axes: the Greek belief in a pantheon of gods and oracles who communicate with them; and Xerxes’ insistence that he is a god to be worshiped.

Leonidas visits an oracle, an entranced young woman who’s “tended to” (more on that below) by horribly disfigured men called Ephors. While there, Leonidas is told, “Trust the gods. Your blasphemies have cost us enough already.” The king dismisses the Ephors as “diseased old mystics.” In passing, Leonidas tells his troops to “pray to the gods.” A storm that sinks many Persian ships is attributed to Zeus’ wrath.

Xerxes is frequently described (by himself and his underlings) in divine terms, such as “god of gods,” and he mimics scriptural language when he says things about himself such as, “The lord of hosts is prepared to forgive all.” He speaks of his divine power and promises (almost like Satan’s temptation of Jesus) to make Leonidas the warlord of all Greece if he submits. His Immortals are described as “Persian ghosts, hunters of men’s souls.”

Sexual Content

The oracle is barely clothed in a gauzy sheet that reveals her breast. It’s implied that the Ephors use her sexually at will, and one licks the oracle’s neck as she delivers her prophecy. A graphic sex scene between Leonidas and his wife includes movement, his uncovered rear and several shots of her breasts. Xerxes invites Ephialtes into his harem and uses promises of sexual pleasure to get him to betray the Spartans. Several women are topless and kiss one another in this sensual, orgy-like scene; others are nearly naked.

Queen Gorgo’s chief opponent on the council is a devious man named Theron; in exchange for his help, she allows him to have his way with her. It’s implied (as he violently grabs her) that he’s virtually raping her. (We briefly glimpse her robe fall to the ground.)

Spartan women, especially the queen, wear cleavage-baring robes without undergarments. The Spartan warriors themselves fight shirtless, and the camera often focuses on their physiques. An offhand reference is made to Athenians being “boy lovers.”

Violent Content

Let’s put it this way: Neither torsos nor appendages fare well in 300 . Perhaps thousands of soldiers find themselves on the receiving end of spears, swords and arrows for about an hour and 15 minutes of this two-hour film. A giant is knifed in the eye. Extremities get hacked off (at least three heads, half-a-dozen arms, legs, hands, etc.). After one decapitation, the father of that soldier cradles his son’s headless body (the head lies nearby). Spartans repeatedly wander the battlefield skewering unfortunates who’ve not quite perished yet. (“No mercy” is a Spartan watchword.) Add to such brutality scenes depicting piles of corpses—some skewered on stakes, others “attached” to a tree with arrows and still others used to construct a defensive wall—and you’ve an epic amount of violent imagery in this film.

Non-battlefield violence includes Leonidas spearing a wolf in the mouth as a youth; 7-year-old Spartans-in-training pummeling and bruising each other; older boys receiving whip lashings to learn how to resist pain; a soldier’s wound being cauterized by white-hot metal; and Queen Gorgo stabbing (and killing) a traitorous Spartan. When a herald of Xerxes arrives in Sparta dangling a chain of skulls for emphasis, Leonidas shoves him and several members of his party into a seemingly bottomless pit. Xerxes’ executioner is a monstrosity of a man whose arms have been replaced with blades (which he dutifully uses to dislodge heads of failed generals).

Crude or Profane Language

In telling a story about a war hundreds of years before the time of Christ, filmmakers weren’t able to logically include abuses of His name. Likewise, they knew it’d be a pretty far stretch to include f-words or s-words. So this R-rated-in-every-other-way movie fades to credits with only one mild profanity (“h—uva) to its name.

Drug and Alcohol Content

Leonidas describes the oracle as “a drunken adolescent girl”—and she definitely looks as if she’s in an artificially induced stupor. During the orgy sequence in Xerxes’ tent, some of the people in the background hold goblets presumably containing wine.

Other Negative Elements

Sparta’s devotion to warcraft has a terrible dark side. When baby boys are born, they’re evaluated for physical defect. Imperfect newborns are discarded into a pit to die. (We see a pile of skulls indicating this happens regularly.) Spartan law also makes retreat from battle illegal. Not surprisingly, revenge and glory are closely connected. When Captain tells Leonidas, “I fill my heart with hate,” the king replies, “Good.”

Ephialtes is a disfigured, hunchbacked man whose father was a Spartan but fled the city because he refused to kill his misshapen son. He raised Ephialtes to be a true Spartan warrior. But the man’s deformities prevent him from functioning as an equal. Embittered, Ephialtes betrays his people.

The queen is greeted with derision by the Spartan ruling council, which normally would refuse to let any woman, even a queen, speak to them. When Theron betrays her before the council, she spits in his face. Both the Ephors and Theron are secretly taking bribes from Xerxes to keep the Spartans out of battle.

I can’t remember the last time I went to a movie so violent and tragic. But that’s only the first half of the sentence. Because afterwards, I watched as scores of moviegoers (mostly men) walked to their cars laughing and pounding each other on the back. You’d have thought we’d all just seen Top Gun for the first time. Such is the influence of the latest big-screen Frank Miller adaptation, a hyper-violent, hyper-masculine ode to honor and duty by way of blood, blood and more blood. Did I mention the blood ?

Stylistically, 300 ‘s melees recall the Wachowski Bros. Matrix trilogy and V for Vendetta . Just as those films raised the visual-effects bar, so 300 could well become a new cinematic benchmark. Combat feels dance-like in its choreography, alternating between real time and slow motion. This results in highly stylized violence—which is all the more emphasized by plumes of blood erupting from combatants’ wounds. Regarding the film’s look, director Zack Snyder commented, “It’s not trying to be reality. The blood is treated like paint, like paint on a canvas. It’s not Saving Private Ryan .” Snyder also admitted he was more interested in creating visually compelling shots than he was recreating historically accurate fight scenes. “It’s bulls—,” he said of some combat elements, “but it looks good.”

Looking good felt to me like Gladiator on steroids—with several graphic sex scenes tossed in to add titillation. Despite its consistent and at times moving emphases on duty and sacrifice, family and freedom, this blood-bathed epic remains so thoroughly saturated with visceral imagery that those virtues risk getting buried in battle.

Given that, I think I can safely say that the enthusiasm of the crowd I witnessed had much less to do with the film’s positive themes than the fact that the filmmakers have managed to make slaughter (and sensuality) look so very cool.

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Adam R. Holz

After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.

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Film Review: ‘300: Rise of an Empire’

Eva Green commands the screen — and a large Persian naval fleet — in the highly entertaining not-quite sequel to Zack Snyder's "300."

By Scott Foundas

Scott Foundas

  • Film Review: ‘Black Mass’ 8 years ago
  • Film Review: ‘The Runner’ 9 years ago
  • Film Review: ‘Straight Outta Compton’ 9 years ago

300 Rise of an Empire Movie Review

Few recent tentpoles have lent themselves less naturally to a sequel than Zack Snyder’s “300,” a movie in which nearly all the major characters died, while a brief coda showed a unified Greek army about to lay waste to the remnants of Persia. But Snyder and co-writer Kurt Johnstad handily surmount that problem in “300: Rise of an Empire,” which offers a “meanwhile, back in Athens” story to complement the Spartan narrative of the first film, along with an even higher quotient of impaled torsos, severed limbs and rippling Mediterranean musculature. Anchored by Eva Green’s fearsome performance as a Persian naval commander whose vengeful bloodlust makes glowering King Xerxes seem a mere poseur, this highly entertaining time-filler lacks the mythic resonances that made “300” feel like an instant classic, but works surprisingly well on its own terms. Arriving in theaters on the box office fumes of “The Legend of Hercules” and “Pompeii,” it should prove to be the ancient epic auds have been waiting for.

If “300” was largely a boys-only affair, “Rise of an Empire” very much belongs to the women — specifically one woman named Artemisia (Green), who sports a warrior’s stoic countenance and the blazing azure stare of a femme very fatale. As a young girl, we learn, the Greek-born Artemisia watched helplessly as her entire village (including her parents) was slaughtered by other invading Greeks, earning her a healthy distrust of her own people. Spared but sold into slavery, she was rescued by the Persian King Darius (Igal Naor), father of Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), who raised her as a kind of surrogate daughter and stoked her warrior ethos. And while Xerxes battles things out with the good King Leonidas (Gerard Butler, seen in recycled footage from the first film) on land, it is Artemisia who leads Persia’s charge against Greece by sea.

She’s a ferocious presence, but well matched by Sparta’s own Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey, reprising her “300” role), who has less screen time but also serves as the movie’s narrator, holding forth on the long and bloody backstory of the Greco-Persian wars as she guides a warship toward a looming battle. (Both “300” films have made effective use of a slightly formal, literary voiceover to evoke the oral tradition of Greek epic poetry.) Fittingly regal and stern, Gorgo recounts the first clash of these two great armies, a decade earlier at the town of Marathon, which plays out in flashback as the first of the movie’s extravagant battle scenes. The outnumbered Greeks engage the weary Persians before they have even managed to row their boats ashore, while the valiant Gen. Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) hurls the fateful spear that deals King Darius a mortal blow. We learn, too, of the strange dark magic by which Xerxes evolved from his once-human form into his more familiar appearance: that of an 8-foot-tall Grace Jones after a rough night at a piercing parlor.

All this is neatly dispensed in the first 30 minutes or so, leaving the rest of the running time for the kind of elaborately choreographed combat that was “300’s” stock-in-trade, here with the violent storm waters of Aegean substituted for the narrow mountain passes of Thermopylae. Though Snyder has stayed on as writer and producer, “Rise of an Empire” was directed by Noam Murro, a veteran commercials director whose lone previous feature, the 2008 Dennis Quaid dramedy “Smart People,” offered no indication that he could handle a project of this size and scale. But Murro acquits himself more than well, borrowing a lot from Snyder’s playbook while managing to find his own way through the material.

Working with Australian d.p. Simon Duggan (“The Great Gatsby”), Murro re-creates the previous film’s distinctive, duochromatic palate (ochre for day, deep-blue for night), with the actors again performing against mostly digital sets — a look that may not be to the tastes of some analog cinema purists, but which comes as close as any movies have to a cinematic equivalent for the vibrant, active panels of the comicbook artist Frank Miller (whose work inspired both “300” films). Murro favors a somewhat faster, messier look than the first “300,” with a constantly tracking, swooping camera in lieu of Snyder’s more fixed, meticulously composed tableaux, and a minimum of the super slow-motion that gave “300’s” battle scenes their dreamy, ethereal air. And when it comes to blood, of which there will be plenty, Murro’s is darker, thicker and gloppier than Snyder’s bright-red pointillist splays.

“Rise of an Empire” never quite shakes the sense that we’re watching an undercard bout while Leonidas is off fighting for the title, and how could it not? Under Themistokles’ command, these Athenians are an altogether more civilized lot than their neighbors to the south, lacking the suicidal fire in their bellies that drove the Spartans to seek their so-called “beautiful deaths.” These farmers, poets and artists — heck, even Aeschylus himself (Hans Matheson) is among them — go more reluctantly to war, and Themistokles himself cuts a less iconic figure than mighty Leonidas. But when push comes to shove, they rise to the occasion, and the movie’s long, impressively sustained central naval engagement (modeled on the real-life Battle of Artemisium) is as exciting for its large-scale clashes of military might as for its minutiae of Greco-Persian battle strategy.

The images are duly spectacular, as Murro’s camera swoops and dives from every conceivable direction: Greek ships charging the Persian armada like so battering rams; mighty wooden vessels reduced to splinters by the jutting rocks of a narrow strait; nautical and human debris swiftly subsumed by the churning tempest. Yet not a bit of it is as startling as even a fleeting glimpse of Artemisia’s icily intent stare. Elsewhere, Murro and the writers fold in some compelling side business: As in “300,” there’s a focus on a pair of father and son soldiers, Scyllias and Calisto, the latter played with appealing humility by the rising young star Jack O’Connell (fresh off his bracing star turn in the IRA drama “71,” and soon to be back at sea in Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken”).

Three visual effects houses and two vfxsupervisors share credit for the movie’s seamless integration of the real and the virtual. Also making a major contribution: the Dutch electronica composer Tom Holkenborg, aka Junkie XL, whose throbbing, muscular score seems to be echoing forth from some distant place in the cosmos.

Reviewed at AMC Empire, New York, February 26, 2014. MPAA Rating: R. Running time: 102 MIN.

  • Production: A Warner Bros. release presented with Legendary Pictures of a Cruel and Unusual Films/Mark Canton/Gianni Nunnari production. Produced by Nunnari, Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Bernie Goldmann. Executive producers, Thomas Tull, Frank Miller, Stephen Jones, Craig J. Flores, Jon Jashni. Co-producers, Wesley Coller, Alex Garcia, Rose Sharon Peled.
  • Crew: Directed by Noam Murro. Screenplay, Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, based on the graphic novel “Xerxes” by Frank Miller. Camera (Deluxe color, Technicolor prints, Red Digital Cinema, widescreen), Simon Duggan; editors, Wyatt Smith, David Brenner; music, Junkie XL; production designer, Patrick Tatopoulos; supervising art director, Sue Chan; art directors, Sonya Savova, Alexei Karagiaur; set decorators, Jenny Oman, Simon Wakefield, Severina Stoyanova; set designers, Anshuman Prasad, David Chow, Tammy Lee, Dan Jennings, Randy Wilkins, Richard Mays; costume designer, Alexandra Byrne; sound (Datasat/Dolby Digital), Mark Holding; sound designers, Eric A. Norris, Tom Ozanich; supervising sound editors, Alan Robert Murray, Bub Asman; re-recording mixers, Chris Jenkins, Michael Keller; visual effects supervisors, Richard Hollander, John “DJ” DesJardin; visual effects producers, Jack Geist, Rhonda Gunner; visual effects, Scanline VFX, MPC, Cinesite VFX Ltd.; stunt coordinators, Jim Halty, Guillermo Grispo, Matthew Rugetti, Ryan Watson, Tim Rigby; associate producers, Mark Frazier, George Perez; assistant director, Philip A. Patterson; second unit director/stunt coordinator, Damon Caro; second unit camera, Lorenzo Senatore; casting, Lucy Bevan.
  • With: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Hans Matheson, Callan Mulvey, David Wenham, Rodrigo Santoro, Jack O’Connell, Andrew Tiernan, Igal Naor.

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300: rise of an empire: film review.

Eva Green and Sullivan Stapleton star in director Noam Murro's sequel to the 2007 film.

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

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Playing the most vicious, and certainly sexiest, naval commander ever to ride the waves of the Aegean, Eva Green has a one-for-the-ages scene in 300: Rise of an Empire , in which she decapitates an adversary with two deft sword strokes, then, holding his head by the hair, kisses him on the mouth with pointedly derisive hunger. Given his condition, the man does not respond but, given the bestower, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had … just a bit.

Other than for the pleasure of watching Green try to conquer ancient Greece dressed as a distant forebearer of Catwoman, more is less and a little late in this long-aborning sequel to the 2007 bloodbath that was stylistically extreme and just different enough from anything else in its field to become an international action sensation. Centering on mostly aquatic battles that historically took place simultaneously to the Battle of Thermopylae so fancifully depicted in the earlier film, this follow-up slavishly adheres to the graphic comics-meet-video games look of the original. It would be a mild surprise if box-office results equaled those of the original, which came to $456 million worldwide (slightly more from foreign than domestic tills), but most fans will still probably want to check it out.

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Although Gerard Butler ‘s star has significantly fallen due to the 17 mediocre films he’s made since 300 , he’s missed here; his replacement at the top of the sequel’s cast, Australian actor Sullivan Stapleton , just can’t bellow on a par with Butler, whose cocky, over-the-top abandon and staunch physical presence leave big sandals to fill. Visually, there was clearly a mandate to hew close to the original’s look. All the same, it’s disappointing that, after all the years, no effort has been made to augment or riff on the style at all; in fact, the new film is more monochromatic and duller in appearance, lacking the bold reds and rich earth tones that are glimpsed here in brief visits to Sparta and the events at Thermopylae.

Original director Zack Snyder , who moved on to the Superman franchise at Warner Bros., turned the directing reins over to Israeli commercials ace Noam Murro , whose previous feature was the 2008 independent Smart People . However, Snyder stayed around to co-produce and adapt Frank Miller ‘s graphic novel Xerxes along with returning co-scripter Kurt Johnstad . Other top creative personnel are different, which hasn’t prevented the sequel from sporting the same bombastic, slo-mo, blood-in-your-face aesthetic.

Narrated by Lena Headey ‘s Spartan Queen Gorgo, Rise looks at the Persian invasion of Greece, in the late summer of 480 B.C., from a different angle than did the land-based 300 , concentrating on the purported 1,000-ship fleet that King Xerxes expected would have an easy time conquering the divided Greeks. It also provides some nifty illustrated backstory tidbits; that the arrow that killed Persian King Darius was fired by Themistokles (Stapleton), that Artemisia (Green) is a Greek who turned on her own people for what they did to her and her family, and that Xerxes (the returning Rodrigo Santoro ), in a vividly illustrated sequence, had himself transformed from man to golden god (who resembles a walking advertisement for a Beverly Hills jewelry store) so he could exact revenge for his father’s death by conquering the Greeks once and for all.

VIDEO: ‘300: Rise of an Empire’ Trailer Has More Blood, Guts and Glory

So while Spartan King Leonidas keeps Xerxes occupied at the “hot gates,” the non-aristocratic soldier-politician Themistokles dares to engage the mighty Persian navy with a far smaller force, but with much shrewdness. Although he’s managed to patch together a coalition of Greek states to try to ward off the Persians’ assault, his repeated attempts to persuade Sparta to join in are rebuffed by Gorgo, who insists that her city-state does not share the Athenian dream of a united Greece.

But in 300 — or is it 600 now? — 2,500-year-old geopolitics takes a back seat to ranting speeches, ripped torsos, manly-manness and the spurting, spilling and splashing blood, which is often aimed strategically at the viewer for maximum 3D effect. When Greeks wade into battle jumping from ship to ship, the film slips way over into video game mode as Themistokles, the father-son team of Scyllias and Calisto (Callan Mulvey and Jack O’Connell) and others implausibly cut through hordes of opponents with little trouble.

For much of the time, the Greeks have luck on their side, and director Murro and his team clearly visualize how low clouds and fog hide the straits into which the home team induces the invaders to unwittingly enter. They also show how the outnumbered locals effectively use a circling strategy to disrupt the Persians’ attack mode, sending many to a watery grave.

To be an unsuccessful subordinate to Artemisia is not an enviable position; her punishments, as we’ve seen, are most creative. But as her opponents’ successes mount, the imperious warrior develops an admiration — and maybe something more — for Themistokles’ skills. Implausibly, he accepts her invitation for a shipboard summit, at which their intense enmity crosses the line into craven lust, resulting in a contest of rough and varied sex that leaves them both with a heightened sense of competitiveness. That she doesn’t kill him afterward like a praying mantis seems entirely out of character.

Although Themistokles’ inspirational speech to his dwindling supply of troops is nowhere near as rousing as Leonidas’ was before the Spartans’ last stand in 300 , the result in the Straits of Salamis is quite the opposite. In their final armed face-off, Artemisia takes the opportunity to insult Themistokles’ lovemaking skills, but he has the last laugh.

If Rise proves to be anywhere near as successful as its progenitor, one or perhaps two films could follow that would be set in the following year, 479 B.C., when the united Greeks, this time with Spartan help, put an end once and for all to Persian dreams of local conquest with same-day land and sea victories at Plataea and Mycale, respectively.

More than in the original, it’s often easy to tell where the small foreground sets occupied by the actors end and the digitally created backgrounds begin. The score by Junkie XL is predictably orotund, although some unusual and arresting moments emerge here and there.

Production: Cruel and Unusual Films, Mark Canton/Gianni Nunnari Productions Cast: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Hans Matheson, Callan Mulvey, Rodrigo Santoro, Jack O’Connell, Andrew Tiernan, Igal Naor, Andrew Pleavin Director: Noam Murro Screenwriters: Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, based on the graphic novel Xerxes by Frank Miller Producers: Gianni Nunnari, Mark Canton, Zack Snyder, Bernie Goldman Executive producers: Thomas Tull, Frank Miller, Stephen Jones, Craig J. Flores, Jon Jashni Director of photography: Simon Duggan Production designer: Patrick Tatopoulos Costume designer: Alexandra Byrne Editors: Wyatt Smith, David Brenner Music: Junkie XL Visual effects supervisors: Richard Hollander, John ‘DJ’ Desjardin

Rated R, 103 minutes

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Few recent tentpoles have lent themselves less naturally to a sequel than Zack Snyder’s “300,” a movie in which nearly all the major characters died, while a brief coda showed a unified Greek army about to lay waste to the remnants of Persia. But Snyder and co-writer Kurt Johnstad handily surmount that problem in “300: Rise of an Empire,” which offers a “meanwhile, back in Athens” story to complement the Spartan narrative of the first film, along with an even higher quotient of impaled torsos, severed limbs and rippling Mediterranean musculature. Anchored by Eva Green’s fearsome performance as a Persian naval commander whose vengeful bloodlust makes glowering King Xerxes seem a mere poseur, this highly entertaining time-filler lacks the mythic resonances that made “300” feel like an instant classic, but works surprisingly well on its own terms. Arriving in theaters on the box office fumes of “The Legend of Hercules” and “Pompeii,” it should prove to be the ancient epic auds have been waiting for.

If “300” was largely a boys-only affair, “Rise of an Empire” very much belongs to the women — specifically one woman named Artemisia (Green), who sports a warrior’s stoic countenance and the blazing azure stare of a femme very fatale. As a young girl, we learn, the Greek-born Artemisia watched helplessly as her entire village (including her parents) was slaughtered by other invading Greeks, earning her a healthy distrust of her own people. Spared but sold into slavery, she was rescued by the Persian King Darius (Igal Naor), father of Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), who raised her as a kind of surrogate daughter and stoked her warrior ethos. And while Xerxes battles things out with the good King Leonidas (Gerard Butler, seen in recycled footage from the first film) on land, it is Artemisia who leads Persia’s charge against Greece by sea.

She’s a ferocious presence, but well matched by Sparta’s own Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey, reprising her “300” role), who has less screen time but also serves as the movie’s narrator, holding forth on the long and bloody backstory of the Greco-Persian wars as she guides a warship toward a looming battle. (Both “300” films have made effective use of a slightly formal, literary voiceover to evoke the oral tradition of Greek epic poetry.) Fittingly regal and stern, Gorgo recounts the first clash of these two great armies, a decade earlier at the town of Marathon, which plays out in flashback as the first of the movie’s extravagant battle scenes. The outnumbered Greeks engage the weary Persians before they have even managed to row their boats ashore, while the valiant Gen. Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) hurls the fateful spear that deals King Darius a mortal blow. We learn, too, of the strange dark magic by which Xerxes evolved from his once-human form into his more familiar appearance: that of an 8-foot-tall Grace Jones after a rough night at a piercing parlor.

All this is neatly dispensed in the first 30 minutes or so, leaving the rest of the running time for the kind of elaborately choreographed combat that was “300’s” stock-in-trade, here with the violent storm waters of Aegean substituted for the narrow mountain passes of Thermopylae. Though Snyder has stayed on as writer and producer, “Rise of an Empire” was directed by Noam Murro, a veteran commercials director whose lone previous feature, the 2008 Dennis Quaid dramedy “Smart People,” offered no indication that he could handle a project of this size and scale. But Murro acquits himself more than well, borrowing a lot from Snyder’s playbook while managing to find his own way through the material.

Working with Australian d.p. Simon Duggan (“The Great Gatsby”), Murro re-creates the previous film’s distinctive, duochromatic palate (ochre for day, deep-blue for night), with the actors again performing against mostly digital sets — a look that may not be to the tastes of some analog cinema purists, but which comes as close as any movies have to a cinematic equivalent for the vibrant, active panels of the comicbook artist Frank Miller (whose work inspired both “300” films). Murro favors a somewhat faster, messier look than the first “300,” with a constantly tracking, swooping camera in lieu of Snyder’s more fixed, meticulously composed tableaux, and a minimum of the super slow-motion that gave “300’s” battle scenes their dreamy, ethereal air. And when it comes to blood, of which there will be plenty, Murro’s is darker, thicker and gloppier than Snyder’s bright-red pointillist splays.

“Rise of an Empire” never quite shakes the sense that we’re watching an undercard bout while Leonidas is off fighting for the title, and how could it not? Under Themistokles’ command, these Athenians are an altogether more civilized lot than their neighbors to the south, lacking the suicidal fire in their bellies that drove the Spartans to seek their so-called “beautiful deaths.” These farmers, poets and artists — heck, even Aeschylus himself (Hans Matheson) is among them — go more reluctantly to war, and Themistokles himself cuts a less iconic figure than mighty Leonidas. But when push comes to shove, they rise to the occasion, and the movie’s long, impressively sustained central naval engagement (modeled on the real-life Battle of Artemisium) is as exciting for its large-scale clashes of military might as for its minutiae of Greco-Persian battle strategy.

The images are duly spectacular, as Murro’s camera swoops and dives from every conceivable direction: Greek ships charging the Persian armada like so battering rams; mighty wooden vessels reduced to splinters by the jutting rocks of a narrow strait; nautical and human debris swiftly subsumed by the churning tempest. Yet not a bit of it is as startling as even a fleeting glimpse of Artemisia’s icily intent stare. Elsewhere, Murro and the writers fold in some compelling side business: As in “300,” there’s a focus on a pair of father and son soldiers, Scyllias and Calisto, the latter played with appealing humility by the rising young star Jack O’Connell (fresh off his bracing star turn in the IRA drama “71,” and soon to be back at sea in Angelina Jolie’s “Unbroken”).

Three visual effects houses and two vfxsupervisors share credit for the movie’s seamless integration of the real and the virtual. Also making a major contribution: the Dutch electronica composer Tom Holkenborg, aka Junkie XL, whose throbbing, muscular score seems to be echoing forth from some distant place in the cosmos.

2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Film Review: ‘300: Rise of an Empire’

Film Review 300 Rise of an Empire Legendary Pictures

Legendary Pictures

“Kill shot,” “takedown,” “finishing move”… call it what you will, it’s become a staple of the modern video game. It’s that moment in combat when your opponent is nearly beaten, and the only thing required to seal the deal is to unleash that special one-of-a-kind maneuver you’ve been reserving until the time is just right. I ask you, is there anything more satisfying than pressing the correct sequence of buttons on your controller that causes your avatar to deliver that final crushing blow? I mean, what could possibly be cooler than watching your Nordic barbarian decapitate a troll in the mountains of Skyrim , or seeing Batman cripple some nameless thug in the bowels of Arkham Asylum – all of it in glorious slow motion so you don’t miss a single drop of blood? Man oh man, if only they could find a way to translate the vicarious thrill of kill shots to the movies… wouldn’t that be the greatest?

Oh wait, they did that already! It was called 300 , and it came out about eight years ago. Based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel of the same name, 300 was the extremely fictional retelling of the events surrounding the legendary Battle of Thermopylae, where King Leonidas of Sparta led a small band of soldiers in a heroic last stand against the overwhelming forces of the Persian king, Xerxes. That wasn’t the first time the story had been put to film, of course, but what made 300 ’s rendition unique was its visual style. Combining the comic book art direction of Sin City with the slowed down “bullet time” effects of The Matrix , 300 became the equivalent of watching a non-stop series of live action finishing moves play out on the big screen. I read somewhere that the video game Tattoo Assassins set the record for most kill shots with an incredible 2,196 unique – and often gruesome – takedowns. I’m not sure if anyone counted, but it sure seemed like 300 beat that number.

And if 300 didn’t, then surely its sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire , must do so. Time and time again throughout the film, the furious onscreen action lurches to a near halt in order to linger on the super slow motion image of a sword lopping off a limb or an arrow piercing someone’s skull or a spear thrusting into… well you get the idea. Barring the sure-to-be-talked-about sex scene (wait for it, we’ll get there), hardly a three minute stretch of time goes by in 300: Rise of an Empire without an extended slow-motion sequence involving dozens of highly choreographed kill shots. Seriously, there’s probably more choreography in this movie than in any dance recital you’re likely to see. The difference is that it’s put to the purpose of simulated slaughter rather than soubresauts.

One would imagine that if any of the movie’s copious disemboweling looked at all realistic, audiences would probably be forced to run from their seats in search of the nearest vomitorium, but like it’s predecessor before it, 300: Rise of an Empire has little interest in reality. Rather, it puts its cartoonish, jelly-like CGI blood spatters to the task of mythologizing the events surrounding the real life battles of Artemisium and Salamis, in which the Athenian general Themistocles led Greek forces in naval combat against the Persians.

The movie begins at roughly the same time as the events in 300 , with Themistocles in Athens attempting to convince the various Greek city-states to commit to war. Having as little success as Leonidas did in Sparta in raising a significant army, Themistocles assembles what little forces he can from willing farmers and craftsmen. This results in one of the film’s few variations from the visual style of its predecessor. Whereas the Spartans of 300 famously sported abs that looked as if they had been chiseled from stone, the fighting men of Rise of an Empire appear as if they only work out at the gym five or six hours every other day. Pathetic, I know, but they’re shown that way on purpose to point out what anemic resources Themistocles had to work with.

While Leonidas leads his three hundred to their fate at Thermopylae, Themistocles engages the Persian fleet at Artemisium. Thanks to Themistocles’ cunning strategies, the initial engagements favor the Greeks despite the Persian’s superior ships and overwhelming numbers. Unfortunately, the leader of the Persian navy, Queen Artemisia – we’ll get to her in a minute – is equally crafty. While Xerxes overruns Leonidas and his men, Artemesia manages to drive Themistocles into retreat. With the Greeks now in disarray, the Persians are free to begin their invasion in earnest and immediately move to sack Athens. Realizing the entire country is on the verge of falling, Themistocles uses the martyrdom of the three hundred Spartans as a rallying call to ignite the spirit of his fellow Greeks. Newly emboldened, the united Greeks challenge the Persians to a final battle at Salamis. Lots of slow motion carnage ensues.

What is there to say? Like 300 before it, Rise of an Empire is most definitely not a character study. In fact, if it’s at all possible, Rise of an Empire is even less subtle than 300 . Gone are even the meager attempts at tenderness the first film showed between Leonidas and his wife. The closest the new movie comes to that side of the emotional spectrum is Themistocles’ manly tears over his dying friends. Even sex in Rise of an Empire is devoid of anything approaching intimacy. During a break in the fighting at Artemisium, Themistocles is invited to Artemesia’s ship, where the queen hopes to persuade the Greek to switch sides. The sexual encounter that follows is depicted more as a battle than an act of pleasure, with the two commanders intermittently strangling and pummeling each other as they attempt to establish dominance.

Yeah, for that scene alone, 300: Rise of an Empire is probably not the ideal choice for date night. Still, that portrayal is consistent with the way Artemesia’s character is depicted throughout the film, which is basically that of an unstoppable killing machine of a man who also just happens to have breasts. It probably wouldn’t be much of a big deal if we were watching a video game where the choice of sex is about as important as what color armor your character is going to wear. But the problem here is that the historical Artemesia was nothing like this, so any viewer privy to that fact has to wonder about the purpose for which history being distorted.

Anybody familiar with the works of Frank Miller knows that he is notorious amongst his critics for his poor handling of women. In Miller’s fictionalized universe, only masculinity (his version of it, anyway) is of value, while any hint of the feminine is seen as a sign of weakness. Any woman who expresses a trace of genuine femininity in a Miller story is most likely doomed to be raped, killed, or both. However, if she adopts masculine traits as Artemesia does, then she has worth beyond her role as a sexual object. Oh, she may still die a horrible slow motion death, but at least she’ll do so like a man, going down fighting amidst the glory of battle.

While to some it probably seems progressive to depict Artemesia in this manner, it’s actually something of a step backwards. One of the innovations to come along in the book of Genesis was the idea that man and woman were created with one and the same dignity in the image of God despite their different masculine and feminine natures. In light of this teaching, the differences between men and women become a strength of our species, with both masculinity and femininity serving important purposes. Suppressing one for the other actually holds us all back. Given that, depictions like the one of Artemesia are harmful in a way, devaluing femininity as they do.

Of course, I suppose that’s only a problem if you take something like 300: Rise of an Empire seriously, which is admittedly pretty hard to do. If you just stick to the surface level, then the film is nothing more than a two-hour long compilation of expertly crafted video game kill shots that come with the added bonus of not having to press any buttons in order to see them. If your inner thirteen to thirty-five male video game player is excited at the thought of seeing that, then 300: Rise of an Empire is the movie for you this weekend.

In a world he didn’t create, in a time he didn’t choose, one man looks for signs of God in the world by… watching movies. When he’s not reviewing new releases for Aleteia , David Ives spends his time exploring the intersection of low-budget/cult cinema and Catholicism at The B-Movie Catechism .

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Film Review: 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE

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Does The New 300 Stand With The Original?

DIRECTOR: NOAM MURRO/2014

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It’s an interesting move; one of several the filmmakers could have taken.  Even though  300  didn’t really need a sequel  per se,  the fact that some version of these events actually happened means that there were several more options open to the filmmakers in terms of a second installment.  For example, a prequel set at the Battle of Marathon; a sequel that shows the Naval Battle of Salamis; even a side-quel about the Battle of Artemisium, which was happening simultaneously with the Battle of Thermopylae depicted in  300.   But rather than pick just one of these options,  Rise of an Empire  says, “Screw it, I’m gonna be  all three of those things at the same time. ”

On paper, this sounds like flirting with disaster.  Most movies that try to do everything aren’t good at doing anything.  Yet  Rise of the Empire  somehow manages to straddle that fine line between genius and insanity and ride it like a cowboy on a bucking bronco.  This novel, non-linear approach ends up working far better than it has any right to.  Sure, it’s a throw-your-cake-at-the-wall-and-eat-what-sticks approach, but I’m happy to report not only is this cake super-sticky, but it’s damn tasty too.  We get a prologue at Marathon; a climax at Salamis, and the bulk of the movie takes place at Artemisium.  But wait—there’s more!  Like  300,  most of  Rise of an Empire  is told in flashback, but this time, we get bonus flashbacks within  that  flashback, like some kind of flashback inception (this movie is structured a lot like an Anne Rice novel at times).  Meanwhile, we also check in with the events of the first film from time to time, as they simultaneously unfold alongside the events of this one.  We get a look at the socio-political context framing these events, what led up to those events, and how those events effected the rest of the Greco-Persian war.  On top of all of that, we also get multiple origin stories:  the rise of the god-king Xerxes, which we discover is tied to the origin of our new hero, the Athenian General Themistocles.  We also get the back-story for our charismatic new villain:  Artemisia (Eva Green), the beautiful but deadly Greek-born commander of the Persian Navy. [2]

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Eva Green is a  revelation  in this film.   She’s incredibly sexy and incredibly terrifying (often at the same time); a more than formidable bad-ass to rival anyone else in this series.  Green brings just the right amount of calculated yet tragic insanity to the role, playing Artemisia as deeply disturbed, yet totally in control—she’s making the best of a nightmarish past, hardened by adversity into both an expert scrapper and a brilliant manipulator.  In short, she’s become what she had to become in order not just to survive, but to flourish.  And Eva Green is so charismatically sadistic and memorable in this role, that I now want Zack Snyder to film new scenes with her in order to edit them into the first  300,  even though that kind of George Lucas monkey-shining goes against everything I believe in when it comes to the art of film.  But Green is  just that good  as the breakout star of this movie, which I sincerely hope catapults her into household name-recognition status [3] .  Her biggest role prior to this was as a Bond girl, but  Rise of an Empire  proves that she can do so much more.

I have a feeling that when this movie is remembered down the line, it’s going to be thanks to Eva Green.

She steals the show right out from under everyone else in the movie, including her main rival, Themistocles (Australian actor Sullivan Stapleton [ Gangster Squad ]).  That’s not to say he doesn’t do serviceable work here—it’s impressive enough that he manages to hold his own against Green and not get completely eclipsed by her, even if she dominates the screen (and all the men around her) the entire time.  It helps that Stapleton is just as pretty as Green is, and that they only share the screen together twice—but boy-howdy, what a couple of scenes.

Their first scene together involves what I can only describe as a “sex fight,” and it perfectly illustrates what I’m talking about.  Artemisia, having invited Themistocles onto her barge during a lull in the fighting (a parallel to the scene in the first movie where Xerxes parlays with Leonidas, making everyone uncomfortable in the process) in order to seduce him over to the dark side.  It isn’t long before seduction turns into full-on fornication.  But in a marked contrast to the tender and caring (if explicit) lovemaking between Leonidas and his wife Gorgo in  300,  this scene is all angry screwing between two people who hate each other and everything they stand for, jockeying for position the entire time.  It’s darkly and violently erotic, and ends in a stalemate—Themistocles more or less gains the moral high ground (such as it is), but Artemisia wins at sex—something she’s only too happy to remind him of later in one of the best one-liner insults I’ve heard since  Blade Trinity.

300: BATTLE OF ARTEMESIUM

One of the big themes in  Rise of an Empire  is manipulation:  the behind-the-scenes political maneuvering that sends empires to war with one another, and the puppet masters who prop up oligarchs for their own purposes.  Themistocles manipulates the Greek city-states into uniting for the greater good, and manipulates Sparta into sacrificing itself for a dream it doesn’t even believe in.  Artemisia manipulates Xerxes from her own position of power, fashioning him into a symbol of false godhood and using him to enable her own vendetta against Greece.  When these two tacticians meet in battle, it’s like they’re playing chess with each other across the open sea.  This is actually one of the big strengths of  Rise of the Empire,  as well as yet another aspect that makes it distinctive from  300:   the strategies and creative battle maneuvers that keep things very interesting.  Anyone who geeks out over war tactics and battle strategies is going to have a field day with the Battle of Artemisium.

Another thing that distinguishes this movie from the original is its perspective on war.   300  was shown from the viewpoint of the hyper-violent Spartans, who were born and bred for warfare.  As a result, the first movie almost came off as a series of propaganda reels about the glory of battle.  But this time around, we witness those events through the eyes of other characters with radically different perspectives.  The heroes of  Rise of an Empire  are the more civilized Athenians, who see war as a necessary evil and something to be mourned, not celebrated.  In fact, much is made in  Rise of an Empire  about the shortcomings of the Spartan mindset—Themistocles basically sees them as barbarians who are good for basically two things:  a blunt object to hammer away at the enemy with, and an inspiring sacrifice to rally the rest of Greece to the cause.  So while from a visual standpoint, Rise of an Empire  is a natural evolution from  300 , part of that evolution means exploring new ground in terms of themes and ideas.  Interestingly enough, this makes up for some of the gross historical inaccuracies of the first movie, which ignores the sacking of Athens, which happened  after  the Battle of Thermopylae, and was essentially ignored in the last film.  But here we see it in gory detail—new director Noam Murro doesn’t shy away from showing the consequences of what went down at the Hot Gates.

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I can’t help but think that a lot of this has to do with what has happened in the world since the release of the first movie.   300  was released at the height of two foreign wars [4] , while George Bush Jr. was still in power and patriotism still meant being hawkish to a lot of people.  It was much more heavily influenced by Frank Miller, an anti-Arab curmudgeon who was essentially broken by 9/11.  The Spartans looked and sounded a lot like us at the time—making grand speeches about freedom and liberty (never mind the fact that historical Sparta was a feudalistic slave state in which freedom was reserved only for the elite ruling minority [5] ), standing against an oppressive army of the demonized “other.”  It was about as “us vs. them” as it gets.  By contrast,  Rise of an Empire  is a movie from the Obama era—we have less tolerance for intolerance these days, and we’re almost as tired as war as the Greeks in the movie are (though most of us haven’t witnessed the horrors of it firsthand as they have) [6] ; we’re grateful that our global campaigns are winding down and that our soldiers are coming home.  Many of us feel very differently about foreign policy than we did ten years ago, and we’re much more global than nationalistic in our perspective.  So with the current generation leaning left, and peace looking more attainable than it has in years, a movie extolling the virtues of war would go over about as well as a lead balloon right about now.

In that sense,  Rise of the Empire  is being intentionally subversive—not just to the first movie, but also to the cultural context it existed in.   300  told us that war is glorious;  Rise of an Empire  tells us that war is stupid and childish.  Does that make it inconsistent, then, when the battle scenes are almost as cool as they were in the first film (contrast with Ridley Scott’s  Gladiator  [2000] ,  in which the battle sequences were chaotic, grimy, and ugly)?  Or does it make  Rise of an Empire  more  subversive—showing kick-ass naval action while secretly laughing at those who think it’s the coolest thing ever?  And how effective is it, either way?  The feminism of the film begs the question as well—the Snyders’ influence in this regard is essential to what makes Artemisia work as a character, yet I distinctively heard some misogynist meat-heads behind me rooting for her to get her comeuppance.  Guys like that are certainly getting their quotient of blood-n-boobs here, but I can’t help but smile to myself when I think about how they’re also getting a healthy dose of feminism along with their testosterone…much like what Joss Whedon was doing with  Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

We likely won’t know for sure how much of the subversiveness was intentional and how much I’m reading into it until someone asks the question in an interview, or we hear the audio commentary on the Blu-Ray; it’s the type of give-and-take between the artist and the audience that really makes our own craft as critics worthwhile—navigating the dichotomy between Death of the Author and Authorial Intent; having a conversation with the filmmakers instead of just sitting back and letting the spectacle wash over us.  It’s one of the things that frustrated me the most about the response to some of Snyder’s other films—a lot of people seem to just want to dismiss him outright and refuse to engage his movies beyond the tangible surface details (I’m thinking of  Sucker Punch  especially—an unfairly maligned feminist parable that was unjustly dismissed as meaningless eye-candy).  Well, that’s their loss, as far as I’m concerned.  Even so, Zack Snyder has proven to be one of those widely divisive filmmakers; people seem to love him or hate him; there isn’t a lot of traffic down the middle that I’ve observed.

The haters will probably have little use for this movie, as writer-producer Snyder’s fingerprints are all over it; one suspects his partnership with director Noam Murro is of the Spielberg-Hooper or Wachowski-McTiegue variety.  And while Murrow himself is a fine stand-in for Zack Snyder circa 2006 (he certainly does a much better Snyder impression than the hapless Renny Harlin tried to do with the abominable  Hercules:  The Legend Begins  [already gone and forgotten] a couple of months ago), that isn’t to say that Murrow disappears entirely or doesn’t bring anything to the table.  While it would be easy to cynically label  Rise of an Empire  as a carbon-copy of  300;  more-of-the-same, as it were—it actually represents a subtle evolution.

Noam Murro on the set of 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE

Noam Murro on the set of 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE

When  300  hit the box office in 2006 like Spartan shields smashing against Persian infantry, it spawned several pale imitations, weak facsimiles, and even a few gormless parodies that are best left forgotten to the sands of time.  One of the biggest transgressions to come out of the glut of imitations was the gratuitous over-use of “speed-ramping,” a type of slow-motion effect in which the capture frame rate of the camera changes during a shot, producing a time-manipulation effect in which real-time and slow-motion blend together.  Like “bullet-time” in the early 2000’s, speed-ramping has been played-out ad nauseum over the last eight years (Snyder himself contributed to this over-use with speed-ramping in  Watchmen  and  Sucker Punch,  although to be fair, it was kind of his signature style before everyone else co-opted it), which is probably why Zack Snyder refused to use the effect in  Man of Steel  last year.  Most journeyman filmmakers seem to want to use it to simply make their action look “cool,” or even to pad out the running time (I strongly suspected Renny Harlin of this in his dopey Hercules movie).  But when used properly, speed-ramping can serve to quickly orient the viewer in the midst of chaos, giving you enough time to process the visual information in front of you before plunging you back in the heat of the action—therefore achieving the emotional effect of experiencing the bedlam of what’s transpiring on screen without sacrificing the geography of the scene.

Unfortunately, most of the imitators seemed content to just use the technique without regard for what it should be used for, like a toddler swinging his dad’s hammer around willy-nilly.  Nevertheless, there were a few properties that stood out amongst the lesser copies, taking inspiration from Snyder’s comic-book opus as a foundation from which to launch their own viable creative endeavor.  I’m thinking primarily of the Starz series  Spartacus  and the video game series  God of War.   Although the influences of Frank Miller and Zack Snyder were evident in both of those properties, they took it and ran with it and did something unique.   Spartacus  adopted the hypperrealistic and impressionistic painterly elements of the production design, along with the speed-ramping action (used more properly this time around), and added political intrigue along with a sizable dose of vulgarity added to the language—think “Shakespeare in the Locker Room,” as if the words of the Bard inter-cut with every curse word, swear word, and dirty oath in the book.   God of War,  although released a full year before  300  the movie, likely drew inspiration from the graphic novel itself—if nothing else, then in the look of the game and the hyper-violence (also, the main character is a Spartan).  Nevertheless, as the series went on, subsequent sequels certainly showed the influence of Snyder’s film, along with other movies like  Clash of the Titans.

Rise of an Empire  now brings that meta-cycle of inspiration full-circle.  Although this movie is certainly stylistically consistent with the original  300,  I can only surmise that the Frank Miller influence is much less this time around—I won’t know for sure until the unreleased  Xerxes  graphic novel (which this movie is based on) is published, but the cinematography and framing are much less comic-bookish than Snyder’s film, which, like Robert Rodriguez’s  Sin City,  used Miller’s panels as storyboards and reproduced the pages of the comic book on the screen.  So not only does  Rise of the Empire  further distance itself from Miller; it allows itself to be influenced by the best of what both  Spartacus  and  God of War  have to offer.  There’s even some  Game of Thrones  influence thrown in there for good measure, and why not?  After all, television is much more compelling, influential, and artistically viable now than it was even a mere eight years ago.

The serial pay-cable television influenced is most strongly felt in the political machinations and especially the dialogue in specific respect to  Spartacus —this time around, the high classical dialect of  300  has been dialed down a bit to make room for a more brusque and guttural type of naturalistic speaking—I don’t recall any f-bombs in  300,  for example, but there’s definitely a few here, used to great effect.   Rise of an Empire  doesn’t go quite as far as  Spartacus  in this regard, but the influence is definitely there.  As for  God of War,  this influence is felt most in the action sequences, which are definitely video game inspired (a common element of the action genre nowadays, or even to this series— 300  had boss battles, after all—it’s no slight to either medium)—one of the more innovative techniques of the  God of War  boss battles was the combo-based combat which required players to execute a series of button combinations during slow-motion fighting sequences in order to deliver crippling combination attacks to the enemy.   Rise of the Empire  sneaks a few combo attacks in here and there, and they’re exhilarating to behold—and during the speed-ramping sequences—used for their proper effect and purpose here, orienting the viewer in the midst of chaotic battle—you can almost make out the button-prompts.  If there’s one video-game element that hurts  Rise of an Empire,  it’s the ridiculous-looking CGI blood that flows like badly rendered wine—it’s incredibly distracting and looks dumber than hell, but when that’s my number-one complaint with your movie—something I’m willing to overlook, no less—I’d say you’re doing pretty well.

Part Hollywood History Lesson, part historical fantasy,  Rise of an Empire  earns the right to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with  300 .  Your mileage may vary as to whether or not you think it fares better or worse, but I’d challenge anyone who says they’re not in the same league.

[1]  And may have shadow-directed this one as well—at the very least, it’s his vision on the screen

[2]  All of this makes for a significantly more complicated story to follow than the straightforward A-B-C plot of the original.  It’s the kind of thing that helped fell any goodwill the  Star Wars  prequels may have been able to muster, but darn it if Zack Snyder and Zack Snyder proxy Noam Murrow don’t make it work for them here.

[3]  Let’s get her cast in “ The Expendabelles”  right away, okay?

[4]  Three, if you count the “War on Terror.”

[5]  In his review, Devin Faraci wisely points out that Artemisia’s origin story subverts and undercuts this historical falsehood.

[6]  That is, war fought be flesh-and-blood human beings.  We’re perfectly content to let drones bomb foreign landscapes into submission; even Nobel Peace Prize winner President Barack Obama has more than enough blood on his hands, having overseen more drone strikes than any other President in history in his role of Commander in Chief.  But drone warfare was satirized in last month’s  Robocop,  so I’ll direct you to my review of that movie to discuss that issue further.

Short. Sweet. Film Fest. presents its biggest lineup ever with nearly 300 short films

  • Updated: Feb. 20, 2024, 8:08 p.m. |
  • Published: Feb. 20, 2024, 8:36 a.m.

Short. Sweet. Film Fest. Lunchbox

In "Lunchbox," one of the short films screening at the Short. Sweet. Film Fest., when a Taiwanese American woman prepares lunches from her childhood, she struggles to forgive herself for pushing away her immigrant mother. An Anne Hu film

  • Joey Morona, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Northeast Ohio hosts several film festivals throughout the year, including the Cleveland International Film Festival, Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival, the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival and more. Each has a shorts program. So, what separates the Short. Sweet. Film. Fest. from the rest?

“What we really strive to do is make sure it’s a community experience where most of the audience are either other filmmakers themselves or people who are interested in film,” said the festival’s director and co-founder Mike Suglio.

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Screen Rant

Kingdom of the planet of the apes hints at a major twist 300 years after caesar's reign.

One key line from the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes trailer hints at a potentially massive twist in the plot of the new sequel in the sci-fi saga.

  • Apes in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes have been lied to about the world's history, sparking conflict.
  • New ruler Proximus Caesar seeks human technology to expand his power in the evolving society.
  • The twist in the upcoming film may involve space travel, with hints in the trailer pointing towards this direction.

The latest Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes trailer contains one line that hints at a saga-altering twist in the upcoming sequel's plot. The latest chapter in the long-running Planet of the Apes franchise will pick up 300 years after the death of Caesar, the messianic chimpanzee who was responsible for the spread of ape intelligence and societal growth. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will take place during a previously unexplored time period in the overarching Planet of the Apes timeline , meaning that there is plenty of flexibility with how the movie's action plays out.

The original Planet of the Apes ' twist ending is one of the most well-known moments in sci-fi movie history, and the franchise may already be setting up another significant twist for the new trilogy that will begin with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes . The ape society that is shown in the latest trailer provides a brief glimpse of some elements from the present day that hint towards the movie's place in the timeline, and that is where the twist may come in. A key line spoken by the new lead hero, Noa, provides some potential insight into the twist that could alter how the entire movie's plot plays out.

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes' Trailer Suggests The Apes Have Been Lied To

Noa accuses the elders of withholding information about the world's history..

The only knowledge of the old world order would have had to be passed down orally.

As more details have emerged about the plot of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes , it's become clear that the apes of the world have been kept in the dark about the history of the planet. Given that the events of the movie take place 300 years after Caesar's death, there are obviously no apes alive who knew the world as it was before the outbreak of the ALZ-113 virus, which elevated the apes' intelligence while simultaneously turning humans feral. That means that the only knowledge of the old world order would have had to be passed down orally .

In the latest trailer, Noa specifically states that, " ...the elders did not tell us everything about this world. " With little to no written record, it would only take one generation of apes to realize that they could teach whatever version of the world's history they want , and shape the narrative under which the rest of the apes live. It seems that part of the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes ' new villain's motivation is to maintain the status quo of his kingdom.

It is likely a cornerstone of his rule, and any who would challenge the narrative would directly challenge his authority. He is clearly inspired by the works of humanity , and wishes to place himself above all other apes by taking control or mimicking their achievements himself. His admiration for humanity does not, however, keep him from hunting them, and seemingly any others who might be able to undermine his quest to claim humanity's technological achievements for himself.

Planet Of The Apes' Next Big Twist Could Be Connected To Technology

The new ape ruler seems to know about humanity's past technological capabilities..

The apes who appear to be part of his regime are armed with taser-like weapons, indicating that the new ruler has either rediscovered electricity or found some way to harness it based on existing human technology.

Early synopses of Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes pointed to technology being a key aspect of the plot, and the trailers have indeed made technology seem like a driving force behind the characters' motivations. Proximus Caesar in particular is shown to have an unusual amount of knowledge about human history , as he calls out their ability to fly and communicate across great distances. The apes who appear to be part of his regime are armed with taser-like weapons, indicating that the new ruler has either rediscovered electricity or found some way to harness it based on existing human technology.

Proximus Caesar understands the power of human technology, and wants more of it to further solidify and expand his rule. The big twist could be related to his pursuit of a specific piece of tech that would grant him further power. He may be after something destructive, like a nuclear weapon, or something that could allow him to break new ground, such as space travel or even time travel. The biggest clue about his technological pursuit may in fact have been hinted at in the trailer.

Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes' Space Teases Might Reveal The Twist

The trailer shows multiple images of noa and freya allan's mae interacting with space-related objects..

Freya Allan's Mae looks in a telescope in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

The trailers have shown space-related objects multiple times, most specifically including moments in which both Owen Teague's Noa and Freya Allan's Mae look into a telescope located in what appears to be an observatory. There's evidence to support the theory that Freya Allan's Mae could be the replacement for Charlton Heston's George Taylor , which would support the big technology twist being related to space travel . She is described as "smarter than most", and her familiarity with the old space items could be why she's labeled as such.

Whether it's a foundational plot element or revealed in a big twist, old human technology seems like it will be at the center of the action.

It would also explain why Proximus Caesar is attempting to hunt her, and perhaps other humans as well. He may believe that she holds the key to his acquisition and/or operation of the space tech, which he sees as necessary to elevate and extend his reign over all apes. Whether it's a foundational plot element or revealed in a big twist, old human technology seems like it will be at the center of the action in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes .

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Poster

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Set several years after the events of War for the Planet of the Apes, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is the next installment in the Apes saga. Ape clans have taken up residence in the oasis that Caesar sought to colonize, but humans have reverted to their animalistic nature in their absence. Now battling between enslavement and freedom, outliers in the Ape clans will take sides in a newly burgeoning society.

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  6. Movie Review: "300: Rise of an Empire" (2014)

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  4. "Epic Review: '300' Movie". Unlocking cinematic history, exploring epic battle scenes!

  5. *THIS IS SPARTAAAA* 300 MOVIE REACTION (first time watching)

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COMMENTS

  1. 300 movie review & film summary (2006)

    "Sin City" has vividly- conceived characters and stylized dialogue. "300" has one-dimensional caricatures who talk like professional wrestlers plugging their next feud. Advertisement The movie involves a legendary last stand by 300 death-obsessed Spartans against a teeming horde of Persians.

  2. 300 Movie Review

    Parents Say: age 15+ 34 reviews Any Iffy Content? Read more Talk with Your Kids About… Read more A Lot or a Little? What you will—and won't—find in this movie. Positive Messages Themes of underdog heroism and not bowing to corru Positive Role Models Even in the face of sure defeat, brave soldiers st Violence & Scariness

  3. 300

    Tomatometer 236 Reviews 89% Audience Score 250,000+ Ratings What to know Critics Consensus A simple-minded but visually exciting experience, full of blood, violence, and ready-made movie...

  4. 300 (2006)

    User reviews Trivia FAQ IMDbPro All topics 300 2006 R 1h 57m IMDb RATING 7.6 /10 858K YOUR RATING Rate POPULARITY 441 127 Play trailer 3:06 23 Videos 99+ Photos Action Drama King Leonidas of Sparta and a force of 300 men fight the Persians at Thermopylae in 480 B.C. Director Zack Snyder Writers Zack Snyder Kurt Johnstad Michael B. Gordon Stars

  5. 300

    24:38 Added: Jan 25, 2023 View All Videos (1) 300 Reviews All Critics Top Critics All Audience Verified Audience Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand Forget realism, this is Greek history as a macho...

  6. 300

    Fri 23 Mar 2007 19.54 EDT T he political and media classes of Iran are reportedly up in arms about this fantastically silly retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae in 480BC, co-produced by Frank...

  7. Review: The '300': Ah, the fine-looking fighters of freedom-loving

    Review: The '300': Ah, the fine-looking fighters of freedom-loving Sparta - The New York Times Review: The '300': Ah, the fine-looking fighters of freedom-loving Sparta By A.O. Scott...

  8. 300: Rise of an Empire

    Madame Web Borderlands TRAILER 2:24 300: Rise of an Empire R 2014, Action/Adventure, 1h 43m 46% Tomatometer 200 Reviews 51% Audience Score 100,000+ Ratings What to know Critics Consensus

  9. 300

    Directed By: Zack Snyder Written By: Kurt Johnstad, Michael B. Gordon, Frank Miller, Lynn Varley, Zack Snyder 300 Metascore Mixed or Average Based on 42 Critic Reviews 52 User Score Generally Favorable Based on 1,032 User Ratings 7.5 My Score Hover and click to give a rating Add My Review Where to Watch ($3.99) All Watch Options Top Cast View All

  10. 300

    300 is a great work of art, with truly inspired battle scenes. ... A Story of Children and Film review â Mark Cousins's 'spine-tingling' visual essay. More film reviews

  11. 300 (2006)

    300 (2006) - 300 (2006) - User Reviews - IMDb New Customer? Create account 300 (2006) User Reviews Review this title 2,672 Reviews Hide Spoilers Sort by: Filter by Rating: 8/10 A two-sided piece of art gus495 31 March 2007 This film isn't for all people.

  12. 300 (film)

    Leonidas suggests that they will not go, but they depart for war shortly thereafter. They are joined by a force of a few thousand Arcadians and other Greeks led by Daxos. They reach Thermopylae, watching a storm sinking many Persian navy ships at the Aegean Sea.

  13. 300

    By Kirk Honeycutt, The Associated Press February 14, 2007 8:00pm This review was written for the festival screening of "300." BERLIN — The Frank Miller experience continues in "300." This is...

  14. Film Review: "300" (2006)

    While it's heavily stylized and differs from the greater historical record, 300 is a good film that provides for an enjoyable watch. It has an ending that's practically a foregone conclusion seeing as the entire force of 300 men is killed, save for one who is commanded to head back.

  15. 300

    Warner Bros. Adam R. Holz Movie Review

  16. Film Review: '300: Rise of an Empire'

    Film Review: '300: Rise of an Empire'. Eva Green commands the screen — and a large Persian naval fleet — in the highly entertaining not-quite sequel to Zack Snyder's "300." Few recent ...

  17. 300: Rise of an Empire: Film Review

    March 3, 2014 8:00am Playing the most vicious, and certainly sexiest, naval commander ever to ride the waves of the Aegean, Eva Green has a one-for-the-ages scene in 300: Rise of an Empire, in...

  18. 300: Rise of an Empire

    300: Rise of an Empire is a 2014 American epic historical action film directed by Noam Murro from a screenplay by Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad, based on Frank Miller's graphic novel Xerxes. It is a follow-up to the 2007 film 300, taking place before, during, and after the main events of that film, and is loosely based on the Battle of Artemisium and the Battle of Salamis.

  19. Film Review: '300: Rise of an Empire'

    Anchored by Eva Green's fearsome performance as a Persian naval commander whose vengeful bloodlust makes glowering King Xerxes seem a mere poseur, this highly entertaining time-filler lacks the ...

  20. Film Review: '300: Rise of an Empire'

    In fact, if it's at all possible, Rise of an Empire is even less subtle than 300. Gone are even the meager attempts at tenderness the first film showed between Leonidas and his wife. The closest ...

  21. Film Review: 300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE

    When 300 hit the box office in 2006 like Spartan shields smashing against Persian infantry, it spawned several pale imitations, weak facsimiles, and even a few gormless parodies that are best left forgotten to the sands of time. One of the biggest transgressions to come out of the glut of imitations was the gratuitous over-use of "speed-ramping," a type of slow-motion effect in which the ...

  22. Film Review: 300

    300 is a digitally enhanced sword and sandals semi-epic that lives up to almost all of the buzz generated for it on behave of Warner Brothers' extremely aggressive advertisement campaign. If this...

  23. Short. Sweet. Film Fest. presents its biggest lineup ever with nearly

    In "Lunchbox," one of the short films screening at the Short. Sweet. Film Fest., when a Taiwanese American woman prepares lunches from her childhood, she struggles to forgive herself for pushing ...

  24. Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes Hints At A Major Twist 300 Years

    The latest chapter in the long-running Planet of the Apes franchise will pick up 300 years after the death of Caesar, the messianic chimpanzee who was responsible for the spread of ape intelligence and societal growth. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes will take place during a previously unexplored time period in the overarching Planet of the ...