I didn't succumb to the whole 300 fever that seemed to have swept the nation a little over a year ago but last night I was hanging out with some people from work and a friend of one of my coworkers wouldn't shut up about what a cinematic masterpiece it was. She said it was her favorite movie and the best movie ever made.
I found a free movie site called rainlinks a while back and decided I would watch 300 today. I've managed to get through the first 13 minutes and I can't believe what an overly dramatic and flawed piece of shit it is. I understand that Hollywood likes to dramatize history but 300 is just ridiculous!
First, the movie starts with the Spartans training in the snow. Snow? In Greece? WTF? That's like seeing snow in Malibu! Second, a Persian messenger shows up (dressed in traditional ancient Persian clothing) in Sparta to demand their surrender but there's just one little problem with him: He's black!! A black Iranian is possible I suppose (even though very unusual) but not when it's been recorded that Xerxes messenger was a white Aryan Persian. I could go on all day about how the Spartans weren't ancient body builders or underwear models but I'll list my third and final annoyance with the movie: Every other scene is a dramatic slow motion, black and white shot where only select objects are in color. I think this technique was first used in Schindler's List to make certain elements more dramatic. I thought it worked well and I really liked it but in 300 they've completely abused it beyond dramatic belief.
The only thing I liked about the whole film was the oracle's boobies. Everything else was crap.
I give 300 a negative four stars and two thumbs down. What a horrific and pretentious bastardization of history.