300 RISE OF AN EMPIRE ("THIS IS NOOT SPARTA...STILL")

March 6, 2014.

Cast: Sullivan Stapleton, Rodrigo Santoro, Eva Green.

Director: Noam Murro.

A sequel to the Spartan storm at the box office should have come a long time back but, rather late than never, it has finally hit the screens this time though with Zack Snyder donning the producer’s hat leaving the direction department to the relatively unknown Nuam Murro.

The story of the sequel happens almost parallel to the first part’s events with the Athenian General Themistokles (Sullivan) trying to unite the whole of Greece to go to war against Xerxes who wants to avenge his father’s death which happened at the battle of Marathon ten years earlier at the hands of Themistokles. Xerxes’ army is led by Armitesia (Eva Green) who is a Greek by birth but Persian at heart having raised by Persians after the atrocious killing of her family by the Greeks. While Leonidas and his 300 Spartans are guarding the Hot Gates, Themistokles and the Athenians are forced to face off the Persian Navy led by Artimesia.

The screenplay here is more layered and wide in it’s approach bringing a lot of events together and for the same reason it’s a bit of a slow start for the movie, not boring though on any account. Once the fighting starts you get loads of action at regular intervals with some good entertainment keeping you occupied.

The CG and visual effects are outstanding making this one of the best movies you have ever seen looks wise. The battle at the sea is much better than what you had in The Pirates of the Caribbean Series and it is done with such mastery that it would not be a surprise if the film gets a repeat audience just for that!

But the one main drawback of the film is that there is no Gerard Butler here, his super mighty intimidating presence is sorely missed throughout the film and Sullivan Stapleton’s Themistokles seems to come nowhere near King Leonidas.

The dialogues are nice but then it’s the same problem again, what you get is lousy delivery most of the time, the fire breathing stuff that was the trademark of 300 is really missing here. And for the same reason you have deafening cheer from the audience during the mere blink of an eye appearance by Leonidas in two scenes compared to the claps and whistles for Sullivan and his fleet.

Eva Green seems to enjoy her role as the cruel and wicked Artimesia with some cheesy dialogues and hers is the only character that will stay in your mind. Other than that there are the unavoidable resemblances to the first part; the dance like fights, the father son fighting together sequence and the trademark “This is Spartaaaa” kick too just to name a few.

Compared to the subdued first half things start heating up in the second with the best fight sequences saved up for the climax which no doubt raises the expectations for the sequel, especially with the Spartans entering the scene!

I am giving a 3 for 300 Rise of an Empire. This is NOOT Sparta....but still it’s Greece! Go watch it if you love action.

IMDB Rating

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.