a review of 斯巴达

A testosterone and blood fueled romp that stands as the best example of Zack Snyder's penchant for spectacular visuals and exciting action sequences. The movie is at it's best on the battlefield where the brutality, memorable one-liners, and sexy bodies are allowed to shine. These Spartans don't stand as tall when the slaughter gives way to the story. The narrative is simply not very interesting. This is due to how faithfully it adapts the source material. Frank Miller's graphic novel is simplistic, but entertaining because of the violence and art style. Almost every scene comes directly from one of the comic's panels. So the lackluster plot is not the often criticized director's fault. If anything, Snyder's role as one of the screenplay's co-writers is of benefit to the film. The original subplot where Queen Gorgo struggles to win over support from the Spartan Council is actually quite good. Of course this is also helped by Lena Headey's strong performance. Considering how the movie suffers from the same flaws of the work on which it is based while simultaneously captures it's strengths, this might just be the most faithful adaptation ever created. 300 would rather flex it's physical muscles as opposed to it's intellectual ones, leaving most of it's brains to be smashed under Spartan heels. Yet the stylish action scenes (complete with cool slow-mo kills) and grand masculinity on display allow for plenty of barbaric thrills. The remarkably physicality on display alone make the blood spilt much more viscerally entertaining. Plus it almost made me like Gerard Butler. It's a big, dumb action movie, but it's depiction of war is spectacular and grand. As a result it's able to win you over with it's gory conflicts, hyper-stylized world, and somewhat bizarre fantasy elements. You'll just wish there was a little more going on with the story and characters.