David O'Connell300: Style vs. Substance
August 13th 2008 06:02
Zack Snyder’s exaggerated, outlandish follow-up to his re-imagining of George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead is surely one of the most divisive films of recent times. Replete with artistic enhancements via a truckload of CGI effects, Snyder has undeniably adapted Frank Miller’s visceral history rewrite of a graphic novel with a lot of flair and passion; his crew of collaborators have combined to provide something almost totally artificial and yet highly entertaining.
Surprisingly for me, Gerard Butler turned out to be a revelation in the lead role, proving to have more than enough magnetism to carry the weight of inhabiting the role of Sparta’s figurehead, King Leonidas, as his men battle the overwhelming odds against the massive Persian forces in 480 B.C, controlled by the physically imposing King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro).
David Wenham’s Dilios, our narrator and one of Leonidas’ chiefs, gives us the running commentary of the King’s journey from young boy onward, raised into typical Spartan life, his fate directed solely towards becoming a warrior and an inevitable noble or “good” death.
Butler’s voice projection is a key component in the film and he provides the necessary gravitas to convince us that he’s a man capable of leading and inspiring men. When he roars or addresses his pack we really feel the resonation of his words.
The exquisitely crafted backdrops are stunning in their detail at times and have the painterly beauty of high class art. Of course they were all conceived inside a computer with the film entirely shot against green screens, however it doesn’t detract from the many memorable shots set up by Snyder, his cinematographer Larry Fong, and the team of production designer and art directors.
Composer Tyler Bates provides a perfect choral and orchestral blend with a few ethnic colours added to the mix, though it's well known that he aped chunks of Elliot Goldenthal's Titus which was obviously used as the film's temp score.
I’m sure a lot of people detest the artificiality of it all, and I quite often do too in similarly styled, empty, large scale ‘epics’ like Troy and Alexander as well as the more redeemable Lord of the Rings.
But 300 definitely has more substance than most of its competitors, and even if it skews history to maximize the entertainment value, it has the distinct advantage of a strong foundation in the highly-praised Miller’s source material.
It’ll be interesting to see how Snyder fares with his upcoming adaptation of another celebrated graphic novel, Alan Moore’s Watchmen.
Lena Headey as the left-behind Queen trying to deal with the politics back home doesn’t have the strongest presence, but Snyder certainly knows where to concentrate the action – on 300 brave men battling mutants, masked Asian Immortals, and any other assorted freaks and monsters the Persians could throw into their path as the Spartan warriors sliced their way through wave after wave of enemy onslaught all the way to immortality!
Surprisingly for me, Gerard Butler turned out to be a revelation in the lead role, proving to have more than enough magnetism to carry the weight of inhabiting the role of Sparta’s figurehead, King Leonidas, as his men battle the overwhelming odds against the massive Persian forces in 480 B.C, controlled by the physically imposing King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro).
David Wenham’s Dilios, our narrator and one of Leonidas’ chiefs, gives us the running commentary of the King’s journey from young boy onward, raised into typical Spartan life, his fate directed solely towards becoming a warrior and an inevitable noble or “good” death.
Butler’s voice projection is a key component in the film and he provides the necessary gravitas to convince us that he’s a man capable of leading and inspiring men. When he roars or addresses his pack we really feel the resonation of his words.
The exquisitely crafted backdrops are stunning in their detail at times and have the painterly beauty of high class art. Of course they were all conceived inside a computer with the film entirely shot against green screens, however it doesn’t detract from the many memorable shots set up by Snyder, his cinematographer Larry Fong, and the team of production designer and art directors.
Composer Tyler Bates provides a perfect choral and orchestral blend with a few ethnic colours added to the mix, though it's well known that he aped chunks of Elliot Goldenthal's Titus which was obviously used as the film's temp score.
Lena Headey as Leonidas' beautiful Queen
I’m sure a lot of people detest the artificiality of it all, and I quite often do too in similarly styled, empty, large scale ‘epics’ like Troy and Alexander as well as the more redeemable Lord of the Rings.
But 300 definitely has more substance than most of its competitors, and even if it skews history to maximize the entertainment value, it has the distinct advantage of a strong foundation in the highly-praised Miller’s source material.
It’ll be interesting to see how Snyder fares with his upcoming adaptation of another celebrated graphic novel, Alan Moore’s Watchmen.
Lena Headey as the left-behind Queen trying to deal with the politics back home doesn’t have the strongest presence, but Snyder certainly knows where to concentrate the action – on 300 brave men battling mutants, masked Asian Immortals, and any other assorted freaks and monsters the Persians could throw into their path as the Spartan warriors sliced their way through wave after wave of enemy onslaught all the way to immortality!
The Spartans leave no man standing in their wake!
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