If film is still considered a purely visual
experience, then 300
will find a few choice coins in its cup post-performance. If, on the
other hand, you’re about as impressed by new-age flashy imagery as a
lawyer is by someone being accepted into art school, you’ll probably
walk out of the new graphic novel-cum-film with a “Everyone’s carrying
on about nothing” look on your face.
Nobody would be wrong in
this case. Both the art connoisseur and the literary-loving lawyer are
right – this is a film that pretty much gets off on pretty colours,
backdrops and fake-but-funky milieu; but at the same time, is obviously
missing a script supervisor… or better, script.
Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300
is the retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King
Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against
Xerxes and his massive Persian army… and that’s about all there is to
say.
300
is a bit
like a runway model – pretty on the outside, but hollow within. The
visuals are absolutely staggering, but once the novelty of seeing what
they came up with for the film passes (which is about 15 mins into the
movie), there’s nothing else to really grab you.
For
instance, the script – or did they just work from storyboards? - and
character detail is as thin as a Libra-Fleur; events in it unfold about
as excitingly – it actually reminded me of one of them, too, with it’s
ludicrous monster sidekick characters (what the heck is Gollum doing in
this? And I didn’t even know Sloth from The Goonies was still alive?
And tell me you didn’t see Emperor Palpatine in there!) – as one of the
less-energised Mortal
Kombat sequels.
Granted, Miller’s graphic novel isn’t exactly thick on story… so Zack
Snyder (Dawn of the Dead)
had his work cut out from the beginning, but you’d think someone (like
maybe the usually-unwilling-to-have-films-made-of-his-books Miller
would’ve insisted on something a little bit more compelling than the
paint-by-numbers (bad guys kill good guys, over and over and over
again) stencil they’ve got here? I’ve had milk-free coffee weaker than
it.
On the other hand, if you’ve got a Bachelor of Arts degree,
or love comic books, you’re going to love this thing. It looks like a
damn comic book, and some of the visuals in it are prettier than Anne
Hathaway at a premiere. You’ll be truly taken back by some of the
PC-generated backdrops that they’ve come up with - like the thousands
of ships setting sail at sea, or the immense army at the end of the
film – because they’re truly larger-than-life and undeniably
scrumptious to look at. That wares off though.. and you start to turn
your attention to a story that should be there.. and isn’t.
Acting-wise,
Gerard Butler is probably the standout… if only because his muscles are
Oscar worthy. The guy proves he’s got the inner [and outer] makings of
an action hero here… and is reasonably credible throughout most of the
movie. Unfortunately, his dialogue is a little cheesy, though. Not half
as bad as co-star David Wenham’s though.. Wenham has to speak some of
the brownest junk ever to grace a script, and as for his performance?
Lets just say, you can take Diver Dan out of Pearl Bay, but you can’t
take Diver Dan out of David Wenham.
3 out
of 5
300 Australian
release: 5th April,
2007
Cast:Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Michael
Fassbender, Vincent Regan, Dominic West Director: Zack Snyder
Website:Click
here.
