Review: 300

In honour of the tale of 300, in which a small group of Spartan warriors, outnumbered by perhaps as much as 3000 to 1, nevertheless held their own for several days against a host of Persians before finally being undone by one of their own, I will likewise limit myself here to a mere 300 words, alone against the hordes of critics circling about me even now!

The film is fairly faithful to the Frank Miller graphic novel upon which it’s based, and Miller in turn took most of his cues from the 2500 year old histories of Herodotus. Having said that, both Miller and director Zack Snyder took liberties aplenty in the pursuit of a rousing tale, so don’t expect historical accuracy! What we get is an entertaining-enough uncorked bottle of testosterone, with no shortage of beheadings and other dismemberment.

As with my earlier viewing of The Last Samurai, I was reminded of the irony that we, the viewer, are asked to not just sympathize with, but actually root for, the sort of people who’d be held in contempt and hated were they to show their faces in modern society. Here, it’s the Spartans, who toss any imperfect newborn baby onto the growing heap of tiny skeletons in perhaps the most shocking example of genetic selectivity ever seen, with whom we find our feelings invested. That’s a pretty neat trick, just on its own!

As for the acting, I was constantly distracted by Gerard Butler’s toothiness as King Leonidas, although I suppose he carried it off well enough. Lena Headey is appropriate beautiful and defiant as his queen, even as she first spars with, then surrenders to, before finally killing the traitorous Theron, played with wild abandon by The Wire’s Dominic West. But then, who’s watching for the acting?

Rating: ***