300
One of the most anticipated movies of the year (at least for me) finally arrives, and is something of a disappointment. The title refers to the number of brave Spartan soldiers who fight to defend the invading hordes of Persia and his million strong cadre of godless heathens. It’s based on a fine (if memory serves) graphic novel by probably still my favourite comic writer - Frank Miller. Like ‘Sin City‘, I suspect the film-makers have saved money on storyboard artists by simply replicating sequences from the originals shot for shot, a simple transition given the cinematic nature of Miller’s framing and plot-lines.
I wanted to like this, I really did, but the CGI rendered backgrounds gave it something of the ‘Star Wars’ prequel illusion difficulties - when you’re brain is going, ‘hmm that’s quite a impressive effects shot’ and not ‘ohmygodthatisamzing’ you’ve got problems. CGI may come on leaps and bounds with every passing year, but it still can’t fool the human eye completely. The fighting, however, is terrific and is superbly executed (ho, ho) with some real tour de force sequences of Spartan uber-warriors steaming through phalanx’s of foreign scum.
Much has been made in the press of the alleged political and ideological overtones of the picture given current events - can’t say I agree. I thought Snyder injected some wry commentary into his effective ‘Dawn of the Dead‘ remake but any covert message seems absent from this computer game movie. Maybe I was too distracted from the two fuckers sat behind us in the cinema who decided to treat us all to their insightful political analysis of the film in true Nathan Barley style fashion - after my previous experience of of total fuckwads in the audience at Odeon Tottenham Court Road I shall now be avoiding this place.
I can barely stand going to the cinema at all anymore because I get so annoyed and distracted by others.
This means one of two things:
1) Cinema goers are becoming increasingly retarded, obnoxious and loud
2) I am becoming increasingly xenophobic, hermitic and old
Whatever, I just seem to always end up next to some fucktards who took a wrong turning at the social club and ended up at the pictures instead.
It was the closest I’ve come to turning round and telling someone to “Shut the fuck up or I’ll get you kicked out.”. Thankfully they weren’t as bad during the film as they were during the trailers.
If it had been a particularly good film, let’s face it, it was pretty average, saved only by the viceral fight scenes and some testosterone fuelled build-up, punchy Steve may have surfaced (buried since the ’snake bite and black incident , circa 1991). I like getting old, as some things matter more, so much matters less.