Space has been playing a ton of promos and previews for 300, and while I don’t actually watch Space constantly, I went to see 300 on the weekend just to prove that subliminal advertising works. Not being science fiction, I’m surprised that Space has been playing the 300 spots over and over, particularly because 300 is about a historical event set in our (real) universe. But maybe it has something to do with it being based off of a Frank Miller graphic novel, or that it was mostly shot on a blue screen in Montreal.

300 has been mentioned by some as the very first summer blockbuster. It is neither summer in theory (first day of Spring is tomorrow) nor in reality (see: the snowfall over the weekend). But a blockbuster it does feel like. From the very get-go, there was a feeling of this being an epic tale. This may have been due to the monologue recounting a legend at the beginning, the music, or that it looked visually like Gladiator 2. What threw it over the top was the use of slow motion. I think if they played the movie at normal speed, it would have lasted half an hour.

But I liked the use of slow motion. Because I knew the plot came from a graphic novel, it really did feel like it was a comic book brought to life (and not in the way that the Hulk looked like a comic character in a real movie). When the heroes were moving slowly through the battlefield, it felt like reading a comic pane by pane and experiencing the main (singular) plot thread. Of course, half way through the movie, the novelty wore off and I just wanted them to Do Stuff Like HK People.

300 was entertaining and a good experience overall. While watching it, I didn’t feel any of the allegory mentioned in the press about US vs terrorists. I think it’s confirmation biases on the part of partisans. It’s also good to see that there are still some films that don’t bow down to movie ratings; 300 subscribed to the Kill Bill school of blood, and was rated 18A (although my ticket said 14A). I give this a 300/500.

Posted by Kevin in Blogs Tags: comics, moviereview