The Catholic Sun :: Phoenix Diocesan Newspaper

It’s not everyday that one can be transported back to the ancient world of Sparta — unfortunately for fans of the ancient Greek city, that day is not arriving anytime soon, certainly not in the form of the graphic film “300.”

“300” (Warner Bros.) focuses on the infamous Battle of Thermopylae (480 B.C.), where it is believed 300 Spartan soldiers fought against millions of Persian warriors. When Persia threatened to conquer all of Greece, Leonidas, king of Sparta, took an army of 300 soldiers to attack the massive Persian army.

Historically, Leonidas and his 300 Spartan soldiers were defeated. But inspired by the courage of the defeated Spartans, the rest of Greece gathered an army that destroyed the Persians.

The film “300” is based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller. Miller’s novel inspires much of the film’s artwork and visual effects, even down to Leonidas’ triangular-shape beard.

At its core, “300” is an action film — an action film that happens to be set in ancient Greece. This results in awkward macho dialogue common in action films joined with impressive, but gruesome, battle scenes. The Spartan soldiers look more like machines than men.

Despite the gore, the acting is actually very good and the film is visually engaging.

However, “300,” which could have been a heroically-centered film, focuses instead on a list of disturbing messages, practices and characters.

The Spartan culture is based on warfare. Mercy and love is generally discouraged throughout “300.” There is brief focus on a loving father-son relationship that is touching. Yet the end result is that the father, mourning the loss of his son, is commended for having nothing left in his heart but hate for the enemy that killed his son.

The ability to fight with great skill and without pity is valued above all in “300” — hardly a positive message for today’s violent world.

The values of freedom and justice are heavily trumpeted throughout the film as the reason for the battle and Sparta’s existence, but they seem a secondary reason for fighting.

One Spartan soldier even speaks of seeking a “beautiful death” in which he may be killed by a soldier equal in skill. “300” is full of war, death and exaggerated violence through slow motion fight scenes.

The fight scenes and much of “300” in general is impressive cinematically, to say the least. The film is enhanced with computer-generated effects. The muscularly delineated bodies of the Spartan soldiers are made more apparent through additional computerized shading.

The enhancement of their physical appearance makes the domination they exercise against their enemy for much of the battle believable. As hundreds of soldiers descend on the Spartans and each soldier steadily disposes of two to three enemies at a time, the dark shadows that enhance the muscular ability of the Spartans makes their valor and success plausible.

The approaching army is visually breathtaking. The overall movie, drawing from its roots as a graphic novel, lays somewhere in between film and an exaggerated comic book. The concept of film-as-moving-pictures is taken to a new level in “300.”

Unfortunately, not enough attention was given to the screenplay. The actual battle scenes, although given to cheesy dialogue and predictability, are not as poorly written as the supplementary storyline involving Leonidas’ queen wife. She tries to rally support for her husband in Sparta while he is away.

“300” is a morally corrupt film that is, however, rather interesting to watch. It is a new way of making a film — the combination of film and computer work is impressive — but it will not remain memorable past its theatrical release due to its lack of an original and moving screenplay. “300” is an exciting action flick, but the merits of the film end there.

Rebecca Bostic is a regular contributor to The Catholic Sun. Comments are welcome. Send e-mail to letters@catholicsun.org.