Analysis and Critique of the Epic Historical Film "300 Spartans"
300 Spartans is a war-survival film placed in 480 B.C. The film was released on March 9, 2007 by director Zack Snyder. The film tells the story of the Thermopylae War in 480 B.C. The greedy Persian King Xerxes invades Greece to extend his slave kingdom with his massive army. Persians under King Xerxes ' command had already taken over Greece's major cities and are now attacking Sparta and Athens. King Leonidas only had two options left either having to sacrifice himself for Sparta's well-being or to see the Persians burn it to the ground. Leonidas raised an army of 300 Spartan men to try and block Thermopylae's tight passage where King Xerxes is planning to enter and invade Sparta. King Leonidas allies with the Thespians and gains 700 soldiers to defend the path's flanks, killing tens of thousands of Persians together. However, Ephialtes a rejected spartan gets revenge from Leonidas by giving Xerxes a secret passage. The movie ends with an epic last stand from the Spartans who accept their fate and are motivated by honor and glory. Snyder’s way of portraying these events in his film captivates the audience from begging to end. Snyder’s brought the audience to their feet through the cast, violence, and graphics.
The blend of live action and CGI produces beautiful landscapes, breathtaking environments and a fantastic aspect to the characters. It's a truly memorable movie down to the jaw dropping graphics, and it's the visuals that the film should always be known for. The combat scenes looked simply outstanding, full of action and visually stunning. The visual style of the graphics, such as the radiant glow, deepened shades, and frames in slow motion, really seems to strengthen the illustrated origins of the movie. The visuals are indeed the motivation for watching this film. Violent movie includes historical events, tension and epic battles. Each and every shot, including outfits, landscape and set design, have been provided max detail. A reviewer Robert Ebert from ImdB said 'This is not an adaptation of a comic book; it is like a comic book brought to life and pumped with steroids. They must have been buying steroids wholesale for 300 Spartans. Every single male character, including the hunchback has the muscles of a finalist for Mr. Universe.” He depicts that the graphics are used in every aspect in the movie especially into the Spartans. Ebert also states “I believe their bodies are almost entirely digital creations. They have Schwarzeneggerian biceps on every one of them. Even the greybeards have those big biceps. They even 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”.
The role of King Leonidas was played perfectly by Gerald Butler and I don’t think it could have been played any better than the way he played it. He was the perfect actor for this role. He had worked out months before and during the set to get his pump for the scenes. The whole crew did an amazing job acting and really made the whole movie come together and it ended up going well. My favorite actor in the movie would be Gerald Butler because he is such an amazing actor and he has come out in so many other action movies which makes him perfect for the role as the king.
In conclusion, the battles were very well filmed and full of action therefore '300' seems to be the type of movie for those who absolutely enjoy gore and violent movies. Overall this is a movie of epic nature and the film received a large amount of recognition for its creativeness, stunning design, and the accuracy and reliability of the original source.
