300 - 5

This film is about originality of dialogue and story structure...OK, I couldn't say that with a straight face. This film could not be further from it. Most of the lines are cliches and or slightly plagiarized from other works (there are actual clips from Gladiator in this film!...almost). However, this film is a CGI marvel, allowing the viewer to enter into a fantastical ancient culture, where gods and men (and wild beasts) struggle for survival and honor. Based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller, Zach Snyder adapted and directs this Sin City-esque film about the Persian/Greek battle at Thermopylae in 480 B.C. Sparta is the setting and the famous Spartan warriors are the inspiration of this film about the human struggle for honor and courage in the face of death. One of the films best qualities is its take on the religious structure of the time, with the Persian King Xerxes speaking and acting like a god and the dominant belief that he was a god among men. The visuals are stunning and the blood flies, splatters, and many other verbs. The sub-plot of family in Sparta actually gets in the way of the action-packed blood bath. This is a film where you get a little history lite and learn not to take yourself to seriously.