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Movie Review: 300 delivers 100%

By Jennifer Ticas: The movie "300" was definitely NOT what I had expected. And if you are a history freak, this doesn't recreate the Spartan battle against the Persians at Thermopylae you've read about in history texts. While loosely based on that epic struggle by the Spartans, the movie is actually a film adaptation of Frank Miller's "graphic novel," a fancy term for a comic book. This film is less an historical dramatization than an historical "fantasization." I loved it.

The beginning of the film explains how the men of Sparta were trained to become great warriors and only that. This training allowed them to become one of the most honored and respected warrior cultures of all time. From a young age, they would be put to tests of combat, which would further enhance their abilities as warriors. This came as a shocking and horrifying wake-up call as to what these children prepared for.

The first few minutes of the movie were already deep in plot and detail. Even though the movie was fairly long, stretching to nearly three hours, there was hardly ever a dull moment in terms of story depth and sheer bloody violence. The story is of a Spartan king who does not heed the words of a Spartan oracle. The oracle tells the Spartans not to enter into war with the invading massive Persian Empire, but to praise the Gods instead and Sparta would be spared. The king does not listen to the oracle and so leads an army of 300 of his best Spartan warriors against a massive army unlike anything they have seen before. They fight hordes of Persians, "Immortals," and warriors that seem to be unstoppable. Behind the action of a horrific battlefield, the Spartan queen pleads with a council of Spartans for aid for her husband - support that King Leonidas, shall never receive.

The plot was not the only great part of the movie. The beautifully choreographed fight sequences flowed seamlessly with the picture. No minute detail was kept from the film in terms of depth and design. Costume design was extravagant, the gritty feel of the movie was ever present and the atmosphere and environment were not only brilliantly astounding and captivating, but they gave the picture a dreamlike and surreal quality.

Romance, storyline, action, blood and gore, choreography, moral values about honor, pride, self-sacrifice, and lots more. This movie will not disappoint you. It will only leave you breathless in the theater and lusting for more Spartan victories. And like Leonidas's triumphant and prideful roar that shall never be forgotten, neither will this film.

Article posted to chs.chelseaschools.com: .

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