A follow up to the spectacularly overblown pathos of "300", Zack Snyder and crew brings back the "THIS IS...!!!" with blood-spurting slow-mos extravaganza. This time with horses marauding from ship to ship, humans jumping 30 feet like they were half-grasshoppers, an overdose of testosterone that would make Charlize Theron grow a beard and countless dramatic declamations that seem to never end. In between the splattering and burly half-naked men running area in glee as arms, legs and heads fly, we are treated to an endless mix of the grandiloquent tirades, woodenly delivered by varying characters. Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) takes several shots at exalted speeches, struggling not to topple off of the many elevated podiums, thankfully however his loyal soldiers turn a deaf ear and all same cheer on their literately challenged leader. For whatever he lacks in enunciation and screen presence, he makes up for with a six pack, making love with the opposing female general (Artemisia played by Eva Green), lots of shouting and being the world record holder of spear-throwing (at some 300 feet).
Other characters also take on the gauntlet and challenge Stapleton at overplaying their roles, as Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), widow-queen of Sparta amps it up with her own dose of pomposity, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) goes medieval as a pinless Pinhead impersonator, Artemisia makes a prolonged death wish by wearing the audiences patience thin, while a couple of other characters challenge for screen time, but fail to resonate. The best actors in this movie are inherently those from Zack Snyder-directed "300", especially Peter Mensah, known best for being kicked down a well or David Wenham as the one-eyed Dilios. That said the stand-out actor in the sequel is Gered Butler as King Leonidas, who features in this sequel as scene excerpts are borrowed from the original. And it says a lot when the best acted scenes come from another movie...
"Rise of an Empire" coincides with the actions of "300", first running parallel, then followed by the decisive sea battle under Salamis, where the sea forces of Xerxes were wiped out in a concerted effort of Greek polis. Naturally, director Noam Murro decides to amp up the action as well as make the war as comical as possible. Inasmuch as Xerxes actually did have superior forces, the difference in soldiers and ships has Persian forces multiplied, while Greek forces divided. Add on the appallingly distasteful tirades about 'fighting for the freedom of the world' and forming Xerxes and the Persian empire into some devilish evil, and you receive a derisive portrayal of events past, which feel ill-suited not only to historical facts, but also common decency.
Overall, much like in the original, this very lax attitude towards truth can be forgotten, even forgiven, given the overblown grandiose concept of storytelling. However, "Rise of an Empire" lacks the same powerful cast, especially given the forgettable Stapleton who is dwarfed by Butler's powerful portrayal, the storytelling swagger as well as the dramatic build-up, which makes the whole ludicrosity of "300" work. Instead, the sequel feels like a poor expansion on Snyder's work, based on a simplistic scheme of introduction, battle, short character focus, grandiose speech, battle, short character focus, grandiose speech (or two for good measure), battle, short character focus, grandiose tirades, ultimate battle (may have missed one or two speeches or battles in between).
As much as graphically this is a riveting eye-catching spectacle, much like the original, it is a ultimately a tiring bore. Technically a joy to behold, but after the first few visual spectacles the form starts to wear thin and the lack of gravity or purposeful storytelling sinks in, exposing it for what it is: a truly appalling TV-grade movie.
Other characters also take on the gauntlet and challenge Stapleton at overplaying their roles, as Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), widow-queen of Sparta amps it up with her own dose of pomposity, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) goes medieval as a pinless Pinhead impersonator, Artemisia makes a prolonged death wish by wearing the audiences patience thin, while a couple of other characters challenge for screen time, but fail to resonate. The best actors in this movie are inherently those from Zack Snyder-directed "300", especially Peter Mensah, known best for being kicked down a well or David Wenham as the one-eyed Dilios. That said the stand-out actor in the sequel is Gered Butler as King Leonidas, who features in this sequel as scene excerpts are borrowed from the original. And it says a lot when the best acted scenes come from another movie...
"Rise of an Empire" coincides with the actions of "300", first running parallel, then followed by the decisive sea battle under Salamis, where the sea forces of Xerxes were wiped out in a concerted effort of Greek polis. Naturally, director Noam Murro decides to amp up the action as well as make the war as comical as possible. Inasmuch as Xerxes actually did have superior forces, the difference in soldiers and ships has Persian forces multiplied, while Greek forces divided. Add on the appallingly distasteful tirades about 'fighting for the freedom of the world' and forming Xerxes and the Persian empire into some devilish evil, and you receive a derisive portrayal of events past, which feel ill-suited not only to historical facts, but also common decency.
Overall, much like in the original, this very lax attitude towards truth can be forgotten, even forgiven, given the overblown grandiose concept of storytelling. However, "Rise of an Empire" lacks the same powerful cast, especially given the forgettable Stapleton who is dwarfed by Butler's powerful portrayal, the storytelling swagger as well as the dramatic build-up, which makes the whole ludicrosity of "300" work. Instead, the sequel feels like a poor expansion on Snyder's work, based on a simplistic scheme of introduction, battle, short character focus, grandiose speech, battle, short character focus, grandiose speech (or two for good measure), battle, short character focus, grandiose tirades, ultimate battle (may have missed one or two speeches or battles in between).
As much as graphically this is a riveting eye-catching spectacle, much like the original, it is a ultimately a tiring bore. Technically a joy to behold, but after the first few visual spectacles the form starts to wear thin and the lack of gravity or purposeful storytelling sinks in, exposing it for what it is: a truly appalling TV-grade movie.