300 Vancouver Premiere – Mini Review

Based on the epic graphic novel by Frank Miller, 300 is a ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. Facing insurmountable odds, their valor and sacrifice inspire all of Greece to unite.

Carol and I just arrived home from the Vancouver premiere of Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead 2004) and Frank Miller’s (Sin City) much anticipated collaborative effort simply titled 300. Thanks to Mark of The Hollywood North Report for the tickets!

We were first in line for the event so we had our pick of seats. Security, who arrived right after us, was extremely tight. They frisked everyone with metal detectors and checked people’s bags for recording devices taking away camera batteries, video phone batteries and miniDV cams, if found, to be returned later.

I guess Warner Brothers wasn’t willing to have the film leak out via some shabby cam version made this evening by a dastardly pirate. I’m sure it will show up on a torrent site this weekend after those all important opening bucks get raked in by the studio. The security part of the evening was slightly uncomfortable and somewhat intrusive, but I forgot about that when the film started.

The cinematography was nothing short of spectacular. Every brilliant shot looked as though it were a masterpiece painted by some long forgotten master. I was expecting the heavy use of CG to take me out of the film, but that wasn’t so at all. It looked like Miller’s graphic novel come to life. To say it was gorgeously shot doesn’t do this film justice. To watch it you would never know that it was shot entirely in a studio in Montreal, Quebec against green screen. No, they weren’t outside. Wow!

The story was far tighter than I had expected and the over the top dialogue we saw in the trailer actually earned it’s way onto the screen. I found myself immersed in this telling of the ancient tale of King Leonidas, masterfully played by The Phantom of the Opera’s Gerard Butler, and his 300 Spartan warriors’ fight against the invasion of Greece by the Persian empire’s hordes of creepy assassins lead by the evil God/King Xerxes. The good guys were easy to care about and the bad guys even easier to hate.

Tyler Bates soundtrack topped it all off. I could listen to it over and over. Bates described the score as having “beautiful themes on the top and large choir”, but “tempered with some extreme heaviness”. You can listen to a bit of it at the 300 soundtrack site.

Just a bit of a caveat, if you are put off by nudity, sexuality and violence 300 is absolutely not the film for you. It pulled few punches in those departments. I think this be one of the most graphically violent films I have ever seen. I’ve seen many violent movies, but 300 went that much further. It is, after all, a film about war in barbaric times. Though cartoon like at times, I still cringed in many spots and let me tell you, if a movie can make me cringe it is cringe worthy.

It’s okay for a hetero man to like a movie with amazingly fit and half naked men in it right? There were a few times I flashed on that scene from Airplane with the kid in the cockpit:

Captain Oveur: Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?

I’m sure I came away unscathed without too much of ‘the gay’ on me. A vast array of naked boobage and an orgy scene full of Persian whores cleansed the pallet washing away all the fruitiness.

I want to see 300 again… and again. I’ll pass on the theatre for now. Too much talking and seat kicking for spoiled old HDTV owning me. We eagerly await 300’s release on DVD.

You however should go see it in the theatre. Don’t miss this on the big screen. This movie is what Troy and Alexander wish they were. It’s not often you hear a crowd applaud at certain parts of a film any more but they did for 300 in a few parts.

Watch the trailer just in case you’re not convinced yet.

[read Carol’s funny review]