It's all a rather cohesive attempt to make the Spartans emblematic of rational Western democracy fighting a desperate battle for survival against Oriental religious fundamentalism and tyranny. The film is far more faithful to Frank Miller's 1999 Dark Horse graphic novel version of these events than to Herodotus, and approaches the ancient accounts of the battle like a buffet, picking what it likes from the history and leaving the rest. In the three days of the battle, the 300 Spartans slew over 80,000 Persians sent against them, and might have slain thousands more if they had not been betrayed and outflanked, pinned down by archers and destroyed. In the original battle, which took place in 480 bce, a force of 300 fanatic Spartans (with other Greek volunteers), led by the charismatic king Leonidas, sacrificed themselves to delay the advance of an invading army of between 2 and 5 million Persians (experts differ). And the representation of disability in this film is more appallingly retrograde than anything to hit the American cinema in recent memory.ģ00 is a retelling of the story of the Battle of Thermopylae. Once it gets going, the action is non-stop, the battles exquisitely rendered, and there's enough blood to satisfy the most stalwart Roger Corman fans. The visual effects are unparalleled the entire affair is CGI-enhanced, showing that we are now at the point where we are unable to distinguish between real six-pack abs and computer-generated ones. Those parts of the film that are not rip-offs of Lord of the Rings (with its epic battles including giant elephants, pithy battlefield philosophies, and mysterious figures with deformities following the heroes) and that are not rip-offs of Gladiator (with its rippling pecs and ethereal sepia-toned wheat fields) and that are not rip-offs of Titus (with its nearly identical soundtrack) are stunning. Huntington's Clash of Civilizations." The film is an action-packed blood-soaked visual extravaganza with a breathless disregard for history or ethics. Before you strap yourself in to the two-hour testosterocket that is 300, prepare for what my colleague calls "a pep rally for Samuel P.
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