posted by NotAnyRon on April 19, 2007; screened on April 13, 2007
Zack Snyder
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2007
Carnage. Glory. Death. Violence. Sex. Barrage. Unrelenting. Generated.
A few words come to mind when I think about 300. It's not terribly easy to associate a complete thought with a film like this. A single word is about all you can focus on before something else bashes you upside the head. That said, I actually enjoyed the experience. There is visual beauty here, hidden in the gore. There is no plot to speak of in the original comic book, and unfortunately what little plot director and screenwriter Zack Snyder attempted to add merely detracted from the impact of the film. I will say that I was excited to have a character with my namesake in the film, even if he only existed to further Snyder's contrived plot additions. The character, Theron, is played by Dominic West, who did the best acting in the film (no surprise there, since he's so brilliant as the drunk, workaholic Jimmy McNulty in the brilliant HBO TV show, The Wire).
Even though I enjoyed this adaptation of a comic, I'm scared to death to see that Snyder is slated to direct Watchmen. 300 was a one note throwaway comic by Frank Miller. Watchmen is the best comic book ever made. I am not exaggerating. It will be nearly impossible to translate to film, and while 300 was fun, Watchment will either be great or it will be a disaster (ala The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen). Time will tell, I suppose.
Maybe it's a tad incorrect to say that there's no plot. The historical story of Thermopylae is quite interesting and the film stays true to the main points. That definitely added a level of interest to the film for me.