Escape to the Movies: 300: Rise of an Empire

Merklyn236

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I found the concept of them doing this sidequel/sequel/prequel to 300 focusing on Themistokles, if for no other reason than (if my simplistic understanding of history is correct) Themistokles was maybe the main reason that Leonidas and his Spartans (and the rest of the troops at the Hot Gates) lived more than an hour. His naval forces prevented Xerxes from simply putting half his troops on a boat and sailing around Leonidas & Co long before they knew about the 'secret goat path.' In 300, its depicted as if a storm wrecks all their ships, leaving them to have to go through the Spartans to get anywhere - completely ignoring this massive contribution. So focusing this movie on him struck me as an apology from the start, but it does sound like they made a good movie out of it. Might have to see this one.
 

Kargathia

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Ashoten said:
That actually sounds pretty cool. The first 300 was a good movie but only by accident.
I really can't call it an accident if a movie's greatest strength lies in exactly what it set out to do: have a bunch of the alpha-est alpha males get down and dirty with some glorious slow-mo carnage against exotic enemies.

Which, incidentally, pretty much is a spot-on interpretation of the original story of Thermopylae. That's a story that's stuck with us throughout history not because of the historical significance of the Persian Empire being thrown back, but because Sparta was made out to be just that badass.

But beyond that, I must say I'm pleasantly surprised by the notion Rise of an Empire is anything but utter garbage suffering from terminal sequilitis.
 

caballitomalo

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Aug 12, 2009
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And here I was thinking that 300 (the comic) was Frank Millers take on the glorified form that "heroic" military acts take once they have been passed through the sieve of history and myth.

The Battle of Thermopylae, on Franks tale, isn't a historical narration of the events that took place. What Franks tale does, and this is my understanding from reading the comic, is tell the story as a sort of legendary act that resembles more fiction than fact. Its the glorified abstraction of what took place.

300, the movie, its the "Hollywood" take of this very concept. Everything you see on that movie its what would happen if today we were to exaggerate the events of that battle and retell it using the presents standards for glory. It is over the top because the events of that battle are remembered in an over the top manner and the movie just uses hollywoods "over-the-top'nes" to tale that myth.

Prepare for glory, through the eyes of Hollywood.

I understand why so many people think 300 is beneath them. I know Woody Allen wouldn't have done it that way, but I still think Snyder did a good job adapting Franks comic.
 

Rad Party God

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I liked the original 300 a lot... what can I say?, I like it big, dumb and flashy. If the new one is bigger, flashier and slightly less dumber, then I'll definitely have to check this one out.
 

Tireseas_v1legacy

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Sep 28, 2009
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Sooo... it's good? How the fuck did that happen? I first saw the poster of it and assumed it was a Amazing-Spiderman-esque cash grab.

Of course, I still see it as a blatant cash grab, but one that at least tried to be more than what it was expected to be. Might actually see it.
 

josh4president

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Honestly amazed how much I want to see this now considering this sequel logically has absolutely no right to even exist.
 

Zenron

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I'm actually pretty psyched about this movie right now. None of the other cool critics I follow seem to be able to stop talking about Eva Green either so I guess I have to see it.

I know it seems like it should be an unnecessary sequel but at least they seem to have taken it in a good direction.
 

delroland

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This is the 300 "sequel" I want to see:

"The Warriors" is a 1979 movie about gangs in New York, one of which (the Warriors) is framed for the murder of a prominent leader. The Warriors then have to flee through territory claimed by other gangs (who are all hunting the Warriors due to said murder) in an effort to return to their home turf on Coney Island.

The plot of this movie was loosely based on "Anabasis", an account of a Greek mercenary army who fought to usurp the Persian throne for a rebellious prince. The prince was killed in battle, and the Greek army, their mission a failure, had to march through Persia to the coast in order to return to Greece.

I think it would be amazing to portray this story using the "300" aesthetic. You could call it "300: Subtitle", or "The Warriors", or "The Ten Thousand" (the name of the Greek army); any of those names would work fantastically.
 

daibakuha

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The Gentleman said:
Sooo... it's good? How the fuck did that happen? I first saw the poster of it and assumed it was a Amazing-Spiderman-esque cash grab.

Of course, I still see it as a blatant cash grab, but one that at least tried to be more than what it was expected to be. Might actually see it.
Apparently there's a scene where Eva Green's character cuts off one of her men's heads and makes out with it. That's what convinced me.
 

Another

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Saw it in theaters last night and I just really didn't like it.

Eva Green carries this movie so hard that the other performances just pale in comparison. And where you found Sullivan Stapleton's performance understated, I found it just boring. The action also feels like its aping 300's pacing to a tee. Big fight, win, pull back for next regroup and speech, big fight, ect. And the clear sequel hook near the end just annoyed me, because I don't want to go back to the idiot Xerxes again. The whole thing was just very underwhelming to me.
 

Darth_Payn

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caballitomalo said:
And here I was thinking that 300 (the comic) was Frank Millers take on the glorified form that "heroic" military acts take once they have been passed through the sieve of history and myth.

The Battle of Thermopylae, on Franks tale, isn't a historical narration of the events that took place. What Franks tale does, and this is my understanding from reading the comic, is tell the story as a sort of legendary act that resembles more fiction than fact. Its the glorified abstraction of what took place.

300, the movie, its the "Hollywood" take of this very concept. Everything you see on that movie its what would happen if today we were to exaggerate the events of that battle and retell it using the presents standards for glory. It is over the top because the events of that battle are remembered in an over the top manner and the movie just uses hollywoods "over-the-top'nes" to tale that myth.

Prepare for glory, through the eyes of Hollywood.

I understand why so many people think 300 is beneath them. I know Woody Allen wouldn't have done it that way, but I still think Snyder did a good job adapting Franks comic.
The way I heard it, Hollywood did it before Miller already, since he said he was inspired by the movie "The 300 Spartans", which had more plausible outfits for the Greeks and Persians. And if Woody Allen made a movie like this, I prefer the Woody from when his movies were funny.

OT: I liked the first 300, and I was still going to San Jose State when it came out. As the self-proclaimed Home of the Spartans, we went all out latching on to that movie, especially because it was the same year as out 150th Annivarsary. I'm glad this movie's also a good one, with more depth and still kicking ass, so I will definitely see this.
 

faefrost

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Did anyone else look at this and have the thought "THAT is what Wonder Woman is supposed to look like!!!" Not some twig like super model. That! With the fiery personality. The armor. the swords. Why WB oh why did you not look in house and see this?
 

Muspelheim

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Three Hundred (again)! This time not as written by an utter smeghead! Coming soon, to a cinema near you.

Sounds... Surprisingly interesting, I must say. Might very well be worth a watch, sometime.
 

DarkhoIlow

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Quite happy to see that you've enjoyed this one Bob.

Will most definitely check it out in the coming weeks.
 

Xman490

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May 29, 2010
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I'm surprised you didn't mention how this sequel pushed the ideal of "masculine good, feminine bad" even more by making the primary antagonist female, as you criticized on The Big Picture's "Pink Is Not The Problem" episode.

Then again, you allege that she is an incredible villainess, which is in her favor. Her name, Artemisia (or however it's spelled), clearly comes from Artemis, the Greek goddess of strong womanly traits (including or along with hunting). Also, the Athenians are less "macho" than the Spartans, so I guess that both sides have either shifted towards feminine traits or have just become more moderate.
 

speccy4i

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It tickles me to no end that Lego Movie's Batman is probably going to cast a very long shadow over the franchise. Every attempt at a dark and gritty Batman is going to have to suffer through at least one person shouting DARKNESS! NO PARENTS! until someone finally gets the message.
 

TheMadJayWoman

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'300' worked for me as a fantastical Homeric epic as spun by Dilios (David Wenham). In that context it was a wild bit of fun, and endlessly watchable.

Everything I've seen about 'Rise of an Empire' seems to be from the school of "All that and MORE MORE MORE!" sequel making, so I've not been terribly enthusiastic. Bob's review makes it seem rather interesting at least; I think I could be talked into a matinee screening of this one...
 

Cabisco

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I honestly thought this movie was going to suck but every critic who's opinion I trust has said it's good, Bob's convinced me to see it just based on his handcuff metaphor.
 

Not G. Ivingname

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marioandsonic said:
Someone already beat you to that Batman joke, MovieBob: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bovfqxydwsw

Anyway, never saw the 300 movie, and while this movie sounds good, I probably won't see it in the theaters.
Odd, since he said in one of his new year reviews, that records these on Tuesday (so the script must come some time during the weekend).

OT: Well, what is better, a film being the best at being stupid, or not quite succeeding at being smart?
 

Frontastic

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That Batman gag at the end slayed me, mainly because Lego Batman was in my head the whole time I was watching that trailer too. In the same way that Bale-Man "ruined" Adam West Batman, I think Lego Batman has "ruined" all the modern, gritty ones. Though at least the Arkham Bats tended to have a sense of humour.

As for 300, I pretty much agree with everything Bob said. Esepcially about Green. I've loved her for many years but DAMN was she great in this, in all the ways he's mentioned. However, I do prefer this one to the original. Even just on a visual/colour palette level, it's more appealing to me. And yeah, this movie had Eva Green spouting one-liners and wielding twin swords. It was kind of all I ever wanted.