I LIKE my films just the way I like my women — with a personality just as sexy as the way she looks. 300: Rise of an Empire is a girl I would date, but wouldn't take home to my parents as the film doesn't quite live up its predecessor, Zack Snyder's 300. Back in 2006, the testosterone-injected 300 was a massive early summer triumph, winning the hearts of the audience and box office and spawning a mild case of cult following. Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller, 300 was shot entirely on a green screen and gave new height to visual effects in Hollywood. 300: Rise of an Empire acts as both a prequel and sequel to its bigger brother as the events in the second film take place before, during and after the events of King Leonidas's fight against the Persians during the battle of Thermopylae with just "300" Spartan warriors. The plot revolves around Greek general Themistocles (played by Aussie actor Sullivan Stapleton) who leads an Athenian army against the gigantic invading Persian navy with the backing of their God King Xerxes. The Persian force is led by Artemisia — played by the bewitching French beauty Eva Green — who acts the chief villain throughout the film, making Xerxes take back seat as the central protagonist. Green delivers an over-the-top performance and at first I thought her character was written by a 30-year-old living in his parents' outside room, but when her back story is revealed we see her motivation for being such a damaged anti-hero. Green isn't the world's best actress and she isn't going to be nominated for any awards, but she does a reasonable job of playing a female lead in a big budget action film, and she still remains my best Bond girl ever. Gerard Butler's sandals were big shoes to fill and Stapleton — with his Aussie accent showing up now and again — also surprised me with bold acting ability in his first lead role in a major production. Lena Headey, chiefly known for her role as the character you love to hate in Game of Thrones, Cersei Lannister, plays Queen Gorgo and provides the narration for the film. Unfortunately, she has little screen time which is a shame as Headey is not only an excellent actress but is possibly one of the most striking beauties in Hollywood. 300: Rise of an Empire isn't profound, nor is it going to gather the same cult following the first 300 captured. It is there for just pure entertainment. It is incredible in its visual aspects with a strong emphasis on the extreme slow motion fight scenes, but lacks any depth in the dialogue. All of the fight scenes take place on the rough and unforgiving ocean, and just like that, the film comes in waves from exciting to average. There are some really powerful scenes with warriors slicing and dicing their enemies into next Sunday, but then the film often degrades with a really lazy method of storytelling. 300: Rise of an Empire isn't a period piece and has little or no historic accuracy, but the film is a good two-hour escape from the seriousness of Blade Runner dominating the TV.
Review of 300: Rise of an Empire
