300: Rise of an Empire (B or 3/4 stars)
It's been 7 years since audiences fell in love with Zac Snyder's adaptation of Frank Miller's Greek war epic graphic novel 300. I enjoyed that movie quite a bit. Fiiiiinally, a sequel has arrived in 2014, '300: Rise of an Empire' (directed by Noam Murro). Yes, a sequel. Or ... is it a prequel? Actually, it's more of a SIDEquel (action in this new film take place at roughly the same time that the other film's narrative took place). Years before King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) led his 300 Spartan warriors against the enormous Persian army, a young Athenian warrior named Themistocles (Australian actor, Sullivan Stapleton) killed the beloved Persian King Darius. His enraged son, Xerxes (returning Rodrigo Santoro) traded his humanity for godlike powers to get his revenge by invading Greece.
The iron-fisted leader of the Persian naval fleet is the even-more-enraged Artemisia (Eva Green), the type of gal who gets-off by kissing the lips on the head she has just severed {yep, she's a sick one}. Artemisia is tougher than her generals, more deadly than her soldiers, & even even more hellbent on defeating the Greeks than Xerxes (she has her reasons). Back in Greece, Themistocles tries desperately to get support of the independent city-states if they are to fend off the great Persian forces. But leaders like Queen Gorgo (Lena Headley), still grieving over the loss of her husband Leonidas, are not quick to help Themistocles. Whether it's pride, fear, or what, they won't join his battle. And really, while his soldiers have the heart/will to fight, they are not favored against the trained warrior Persians. Action ensues as Themistocles & Artemisia's naval fleets clash on the Aegean Sea {boy, do they ever} trying to get an advantage in this ongoing war btwn. both empires.
This movie is a tough one to critique because while I acknowledge that it is not everyone's cup of tea & while there are considerate problems with the script ... I was entertained. Director Noam Murro along with his stunt team, visual effects team, & craftspeople have done a wonderful job recreating what worked SO well in Zac Snyder's 2007 flick without having a graphic novel to work from (this film's script, while partly based from history, takes way more liberties). For better or worse, '300: Rise of an Empire' is almost all about the visually-driven action set pieces (the 2007 film integrated a little more narrative heft/depth). Using the same speed up-then-slow down action that has become Snyder's signature, this is one. violent. movie. The amount of CGI blood sprayed at the screen could fill Sea World.
'300: Rise of an Empire' is, admittedly, a dumb fun film. It's flawed, shallow, yet I found things to like. I liked the origin of Xerxes & his transformation into a God (takes a dip into a magical pool then emerges a foot taller, fully shaved, & covered in gold ornaments). As Themistocles, Sullivan Stapleton lacks the charisma & ferocious panache that Gerard Butler had as Leonidas, but he's appropraitely hunky & acquits himself just fine. As mentioned, the look of the film is just outrageous. Where the 2007 film offered desaturated color cinematography with pops of red & gold, this film offers pops of blue & grey. There's the gooey gore, beautifully choreographed sea battles (the likes you would never, ever see without special effects), intense soldiers, explosions, nudity, ornate production design, strange costumes, bizarre make-up work, CGI ... all of which lends to this overwhelmingly visual & visceral movie-going experience.
Best of all is Eva Green as the deliciously evil, sex-crazed, blood thirsty psychopath, Artemisia. She's a FANTASTIC movie villain; not just because she actually has a backstory (which makes her badassery understandable), but because she just seems to relish hating everyone & everything, haha. Her crowning moment involves a "hate sex" scene btwn. she & Themistocles. The more she hates him, the rougher the sex -- it's QUITE the scene. And her line, "You fight harder than you f*ck", is great!! '300: Rise of an Empire' is a guilty pleasure movie through & through. There are flaws (a slow start, way too much expositional dialogue & ineffective rah-rah troop rallying). But the film is well worth seeing for the final rousing battle & for Eva Green's batsh*t craziness.
The iron-fisted leader of the Persian naval fleet is the even-more-enraged Artemisia (Eva Green), the type of gal who gets-off by kissing the lips on the head she has just severed {yep, she's a sick one}. Artemisia is tougher than her generals, more deadly than her soldiers, & even even more hellbent on defeating the Greeks than Xerxes (she has her reasons). Back in Greece, Themistocles tries desperately to get support of the independent city-states if they are to fend off the great Persian forces. But leaders like Queen Gorgo (Lena Headley), still grieving over the loss of her husband Leonidas, are not quick to help Themistocles. Whether it's pride, fear, or what, they won't join his battle. And really, while his soldiers have the heart/will to fight, they are not favored against the trained warrior Persians. Action ensues as Themistocles & Artemisia's naval fleets clash on the Aegean Sea {boy, do they ever} trying to get an advantage in this ongoing war btwn. both empires.
This movie is a tough one to critique because while I acknowledge that it is not everyone's cup of tea & while there are considerate problems with the script ... I was entertained. Director Noam Murro along with his stunt team, visual effects team, & craftspeople have done a wonderful job recreating what worked SO well in Zac Snyder's 2007 flick without having a graphic novel to work from (this film's script, while partly based from history, takes way more liberties). For better or worse, '300: Rise of an Empire' is almost all about the visually-driven action set pieces (the 2007 film integrated a little more narrative heft/depth). Using the same speed up-then-slow down action that has become Snyder's signature, this is one. violent. movie. The amount of CGI blood sprayed at the screen could fill Sea World.
'300: Rise of an Empire' is, admittedly, a dumb fun film. It's flawed, shallow, yet I found things to like. I liked the origin of Xerxes & his transformation into a God (takes a dip into a magical pool then emerges a foot taller, fully shaved, & covered in gold ornaments). As Themistocles, Sullivan Stapleton lacks the charisma & ferocious panache that Gerard Butler had as Leonidas, but he's appropraitely hunky & acquits himself just fine. As mentioned, the look of the film is just outrageous. Where the 2007 film offered desaturated color cinematography with pops of red & gold, this film offers pops of blue & grey. There's the gooey gore, beautifully choreographed sea battles (the likes you would never, ever see without special effects), intense soldiers, explosions, nudity, ornate production design, strange costumes, bizarre make-up work, CGI ... all of which lends to this overwhelmingly visual & visceral movie-going experience.
Best of all is Eva Green as the deliciously evil, sex-crazed, blood thirsty psychopath, Artemisia. She's a FANTASTIC movie villain; not just because she actually has a backstory (which makes her badassery understandable), but because she just seems to relish hating everyone & everything, haha. Her crowning moment involves a "hate sex" scene btwn. she & Themistocles. The more she hates him, the rougher the sex -- it's QUITE the scene. And her line, "You fight harder than you f*ck", is great!! '300: Rise of an Empire' is a guilty pleasure movie through & through. There are flaws (a slow start, way too much expositional dialogue & ineffective rah-rah troop rallying). But the film is well worth seeing for the final rousing battle & for Eva Green's batsh*t craziness.