Rated: “R”

Based on the Graphic Novel by Frank Miller.

Not to be confused with the movie “300 Spartans” from 1962. (A classic)

Trust Your Instincts “300”

This is a difficult film to recommend. I liked it, but I think lots of people won't. So here is a ton of information to aid you. The short review is this, very graphic, hard “R,” some good lines, lots of action, could have been more moving.

What about the “R” rating?

The 1962 version called “The 300 Spartans” was a classic film, a little campy but still a fun experience. There were things Hollywood couldn't show back then and there still are today. I know, it's surprising but the Spartans would offend even the modern open-minded. I'll dig a little deeper into this later. For now lets just say that our idea of heroism doesn't match ancient Greek ideas so certain things had to be inaccurate in order to fit the modern audience.

I can't help but compare this to “Alexander the Great,” which sucked. This movie is everything that one wasn't. The graphic violence in this film is pervasive and unavoidable. If you don't like tons of violence don't see this film.

Regarding nudity and sex. Almost all of it fit the plot and era of the film. It could have been much worse. Watch “Alexander” if you don't believe me. You could probably close your eyes through most of the nudity. It isn't sprung at you like it is in some films.

It plays out like this:

1 thirty-second, topless, dancing oracle -totally gratuitous.

1 suggested (but graphic) sex scene with King and Queen -hey at least they're married.

Couple more scenes with the Queen -who had trouble keeping her clothes on and didn't wear much even when she did.

1 circus of freaks/drunk debauchery by Xerxes -probably historically true.

As a Movie …

I'll admit that I was worried when I saw that “300” was made by the same people who did “Sin City.” I'm not a fan of filming the whole thing in front of a green screen and then animating every frame. I want special effects to be unnoticeable not in your face. Still it didn't completely wreck this film.

Marathon and Thermopile: a Historical View

Much has been made of the battle of Marathon. It is certainly archetypal and represents the triumph of good over evil. Athenian democracy wasn't quite our democracy but it was a quantum leap ahead of anything their neighbors would have for hundreds of years in the areas of freedom and fairness. The Greek army at Marathon was virtually a militia, each unit representing the men of their county, all fighting for hearth and home. Persia was the invader, her army made up of slaves and citizens pressed into service. Though vastly outnumbered the Athenians were victorious-a triumph of not only of their soldiery but of their ideology (and ours).

Of course the movie “300” isn't about the Athenians at Marathon. It's about the Spartans at Thermopile. The Spartans aren't as easy to paint as the good guys. They were an ancient warrior cult. Their entire culture revolved around war. The Spartans conquered the indigenous people in southern Greece and enslaved them. They never actually amounted to more than 10% of the total population of their own country. How is that even possible? Well they were devastating warriors but mostly they spread a rumor that boogey men would attack anyone caught outside after dark. Groups of young Spartan thugs would wonder the roads at night attacking anyone who dared to violate the unofficial curfew.

Not that the Spartans were easy on their own people. A baby wasn't named until an elder had determined it was a viable and healthy. If it wasn't thriving with in three days they threw it from a cliff. Spartan women ran their households because the men lived in the army barracks-all of them. When a boy turned 7 he left his mother and joined the army. Through a series of tests, which not every boy survives, a boy eventually becomes a man and joins a mainline fighting unit.

Like the Athenians, Spartans encouraged homosexuality but for different reasons. In Athens it was considered romantic in Sparta it was considered manly. You would fight harder if your lover stood next to you in battle.

Thermopile historically resulted because Persia invaded on a holiday. Athens elected not to anger the gods by going out to fight. Sparta decided if it was every city-state for it's self they may as well wait for the Persians to wear themselves down a bit sieging Athens. Not everyone was so sure that Persia would attack Athens first. One of the Spartan Kings (they had two at a time) decided to go out to meet the Persians in a tiny gap that was defensible by a small force. He left the bulk of the army to defend Sparta and took only his personal body guard of 300. Several small city-states, allied to Sparta and Athens also sent forces and Sparta took with them 3,000 auxiliaries (slaves with javelins) that pop history seem to forget about. Still the Spartans did stand in the front line of every battle at Thermopile and three hundred men probably wasn't enough for two rows.

There is something amazing about one line of determined Special Forces standing against forty thousand. It gives me chills like when Gandalf stood against the balrog on the bridge and yelled, “You shall not pass.” This is a great movie for that and that alone is worth the price of admission.

Other Historical Inaccuracies

Unlike film real Spartans never wore shoes. They didn't want to take the time to put on shoes if they were surprise attacked so never wearing them kept their feet tough.

There were initially 4,000 Athenian warriors who did help fight until they were flanked via the goat path. 1,000 Thespians stayed with the Spartans. Only the Athenians, the Phoicians, and the Arcadians retreated by cover of night to join the main armies.

The oracle didn't tell them not to go it merely said Sparta would burn if the blood of one of her kings wasn't spilled in sacrifice. This may be why Leonidas stayed even when it was a lost cause. There is nothing in the Spartan code that prevents a Spartan from retreating. In fact they were trained to use guerilla tactics if they couldn't fight nobly.

Larger Story

What I've been getting at with this review is that Sparta just doesn't make a really “good” good guy. Many great lines in this movie are actually the least accurate things historically. Like when Leonidas says, “a new age has come, an age of freedom,” that's a little hypocritical coming from a Spartan. However, the second half of the line, “all will know that 300 Spartans gave their last breath to defend it,” is technically true.

The sacrifice made by the Spartans was an inspiration to finally spark the city-states to work together. It lead to Philip of Macedonia uniting Greece and his son Alexander conquering the known world. So despite all their flaws the sacrifice of these brave men did start a chain reaction that protected and spread the ideals of democracy and freedom. Without that thin line a martyrs it's likely our world today would look very different.

PS

Xerxes, played by Rodrigo Santoro, makes a great evil character constantly tempting people to make a deal.