300 movies

Or rather, 300, the movie.

So I was in the mood for an action flick this weekend, and ended up with 300, the movie about King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan warriors that was up against one million (or so) Persians. Well, it's a good tradition in old history writing to exaggerate the numbers, but at least this movie is based on a true historical event. The Spartans defended Greece against the Persian invasion, by blocking of a narrow mountain passage, called Thermopylae (The Hot Gates), where "there numbers count for nothing" (you'll hear that a lot in the movie).

But, the movie isn't made to be historical accurate. It's made to tell the story about this battle as told in Frank Millers cartoon (or graphic novel, if you're fancy-smancy) by the same name. And now we are at the base of what I really love about this movie. Yes, it is a brutal movie, but they have really kept the cartoon aspect of it. Both the way the Spartans are dressed (who goes out in battle wearing leather briefs? How 'bout some armour?), the way their cape is falling and the colours and use of slow motion (especially) during the battles. The battle scenes in this movie are some of the best I've seen in a long time. The way the Spartans fight, both with their phalanx (all as one unit) and the man-to-man combat which has an almost ballet kind of elegance to them are amazing. And this simple story of honour, glory and commitment.

So, if you want a historical accurate movie about this epic battle or a realistic representation of Spartan war tactics or an intricate plot, this movie won't give you that.
But is does give life to a cartoon (and I'm a sucker for cartoons made into movies) and some of the most amazing fighting scenes on the big screen this year, 300 delivers all the way.