2008 Woodie Awards
THIS IS SPARTA
"300's" Take on Battle of Thermopylae is a riot
Kevin Nguyen
Issue date: 3/9/07 Section: A&E
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The trailers for "300" might be the highest achievement of human commercialism. The incredible visuals, the preposterous yelling and the absurd violence all work together to create 60 seconds of enrapturing advertisement.
The question is, though, how does the movie stack up to the marketing? Is it everything that you have been led to believe? The A&E editors are here to debate that very topic.
Kevin Nguyen: Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name, "300" is a high-budget depiction of the Battle of Thermopylae, re-told and tailored with a visual style and energy pandering to our testosterone-saturated, patriarchal society.
Nick Martens: Basically, this movie is about 300 Spartans kicking the crap out of, like, a million Persians. It is totally sweet, and you have to run out and see it. Right now. Go.
KN: What? You liked it?
NM: How could you not like this movie? It's everything you could ever want out of a historical action movie. The ads promise Leonidas, the Spartan king played by Gerard Butler, shouting and kicking a Persian into a random bottomless pit, and that's what "300" delivers throughout.
It's absurd, and it knows it. In fact, the movie revels in its absurdity.
KN: Fine. "300" is a film that takes pride in its own stupidity; it wallows in its own vulgarity. This is hardly something I could recommend to anyone.
NM: I could easily recommend it to anyone who knows the value of good entertainment. This movie is visually stunning, and the "vulgarity" you reference is wonderfully stylized and powerfully visceral. The action scenes in this movie are truly jaw dropping, and I enjoyed every second of them.
KN: I see your point, Nick, but there are better examples of good entertainment. While action films don't have to be brilliant in order to be engaging, "300" is like watching your little brother play Nintendo. The Spartans slaughter wave after wave of Persian soldiers for no purpose other than to show gratuitous amounts of computer-animated blood.
The question is, though, how does the movie stack up to the marketing? Is it everything that you have been led to believe? The A&E editors are here to debate that very topic.
Kevin Nguyen: Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel of the same name, "300" is a high-budget depiction of the Battle of Thermopylae, re-told and tailored with a visual style and energy pandering to our testosterone-saturated, patriarchal society.
Nick Martens: Basically, this movie is about 300 Spartans kicking the crap out of, like, a million Persians. It is totally sweet, and you have to run out and see it. Right now. Go.
KN: What? You liked it?
NM: How could you not like this movie? It's everything you could ever want out of a historical action movie. The ads promise Leonidas, the Spartan king played by Gerard Butler, shouting and kicking a Persian into a random bottomless pit, and that's what "300" delivers throughout.
It's absurd, and it knows it. In fact, the movie revels in its absurdity.
KN: Fine. "300" is a film that takes pride in its own stupidity; it wallows in its own vulgarity. This is hardly something I could recommend to anyone.
NM: I could easily recommend it to anyone who knows the value of good entertainment. This movie is visually stunning, and the "vulgarity" you reference is wonderfully stylized and powerfully visceral. The action scenes in this movie are truly jaw dropping, and I enjoyed every second of them.
KN: I see your point, Nick, but there are better examples of good entertainment. While action films don't have to be brilliant in order to be engaging, "300" is like watching your little brother play Nintendo. The Spartans slaughter wave after wave of Persian soldiers for no purpose other than to show gratuitous amounts of computer-animated blood.
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