Been awhile since I've gone to the movies, but there was no way I was gonna miss 300. Let's cut to the chase: this movie kicked MUCHO ass! This is what Gladiator wished it could've been. I'd never read Frank Miller's graphic novel before, but from what I've read online, this is a faithful adaptation. The dialogue is definitely Frank Miller, albeit set hundreds of years B.C.
The plot: the king of Sparta leads 300 of his finest men on a suicide mission against the Persian army, which is tens of thousands of soldiers strong. I'm sure y'all are smart enough to figure out how this one ends, so there's no reason for the usual *SPOILER* warning.
300 is a guy's movie through and through. TONS of fighting, gratuitous nudity, some drug use and a rock n' roll soundtrack. I agree with the reviewer who said it was like Gladiator meets Sin City. It's totally over-the-top, comic-book style violence and it works perfectly. The body count is high (literally, in one scene) and the bloodshed is by the bucketful.
Of course, seeing any gladiator movie makes me think of Peter Graves in Airplane and there is plenty of male flesh to satisfy all. There are also a coupla *slow clap* moments and a few politics-of-war scenes, but like any good guy movie, they're kept to a minimum so we can get more shots of warriors slaughtering each other and the king giving no-mercy-take-no-prisoners speeches.
Highly recommended if you like guy films. Not recommended if you don't like lots of maiming, killing, beheading, dismembering, and bloodshedding. And did I mention the gratuitous nudity? Honestly, not enough nakedness, but the early love scene with the king and queen is hot. Seeing her boobs is just enough to offset the huge sausage-fest that is any good gladiator movie.
