John Milius and Frank Miller must have been seperated at birth. Both macho-men writers though grew up in vastly different environments. While Milius was deeply entrenched in history, philosophy, and literature, Miller grew up with DIRTY HARRY, the sand & sandal movies of the 50's/60s. If Milius the Rocky Mountain libertarian was touched by the Japanese samurai code of honor, the Yankee Miller was altered by the artful manga that depicted such fare.

Film Writer/Director Milius eventually got to make his ancient history masculine-myth in the rather excellent CONAN THE BARBARIAN, while Writer/Artist Miller penned his 1998 graphic novel 300. Both works displayed their engrained-influences.

Since directors Robert Rodriguez and Zach Snyder have effectively altered the autuer theory to make Frank Miller be the primary creative heart of the nearly-straight forward movie adaptations of SIN CITY and 300, this film review will effectly be a review of 300 the graphic novel with some criticisms of Snyder.

300 is a novel and movie that, without the visual fantasy and ultra-violence, could have been released in the 1950s and 1960s with the likes of Kirk Douglas or Charleton Heston being the heroic defender of democracy and freedom in this westernphile propaganda drama, a time when such Cold War-linked stories had the Communist hoardes of the East threaten the advanced civilization of the west. Hell, it partly was with THE 300 SPARTANS, which apparently inspired Miller in the first place.

Certainly you have the apparent elements in spite of history from that time period of Hollywood, which I had a blast with. The heterosexual free Spartans deride Athens as "boy-lovers" and the Persian Empire for its "mysticism" and slavery, while saving freedom from them. Nevermind that the Spartans practiced homosexuality as much, if not more, than the Athenians while slavery was a fact of life for both Persians and Greek cultures that wasn't considered immoral(unless you lose and get enslaved of course). Plus, you all know that Spartan was a military monarchy while Athens as a republic, right?

Of course, in a story with giant elephants, ogre monsters, crazy freaks with blade arms, and ghost soldiers, its all irrelevant. The framework of Miller's ultra-action epic is of an ultra-nationalist propaganda tale that the Greeks tell among themselves before continuing the long-struggle to defeat the Persian invasion until generations later, they are victorius. Thats why the outright insane exaggeration actually works for Miller's writing because it gives that charm of masculine action storytelling that we don't get much from either Hollywood or from literature these days without deviating into pathetic conservative ideology masturbation.

In other words, Miller wanted to craft an ass-kicking roller coaster slamdance, and it works...it actually succedes!

Which comes to my point of contention with director Zach Snyder. He inserted his own additional domestic subplot involving the hero's wife and Spartan politics, that is absolutely useless and pointless in the best of ways. Despite a gory conclusion to this bullshit, it still feels like Snyder was yet another wannabe-Miller punk writer who lacks the macho-ethos or action writing to make it work. That is why this movie, despite star Gerald Butler going all tour de force for his work, loses half a star.

If Snyder had cut all that failed nonsense, I would have gladly delivered a four-star score.

Still, I'll credit Snyder for not shying away from the violence and gore. I just always have a problem with CGI blood. Squibs give the temporary illusion of real blood spurting from wounds, but CGI blood looks as convincing as blood splashes from the old school MORTAL KOMBAT games.

I'm sure the TV cut will be laughably funny someday.

I do worry about Snyder's next movie, his own adaptation of arguably the greatest graphic novel of them all, Alan Moore's THE WATCHMEN. Snyder knows to just use the master writer's penmanship but he's still inexperienced enough to still want to interject his own ideas. Not that I have a problem, except when they bomb.

But with 300's massive box-office success, I feel really great for Frank Miller. 15 years after Orion humiliated him while working on the quite bad ROBOCOP sequels, he's now the Stephen King of comic books, with every studio will buy all his graphic novels and issues, perhaps even pre-publishment for millions of dollars like once was the case for Tom Wolfe. His announced writing/directing project of Walt Eisner's legendary pulp comic serial THE SPIRIT should be anticipated with great interest.

Interestingly, the Iranian government and apparent people are quite pissed with their treatment in 300, but I won't pity them. Much of their government-sanctioned press media draw Americans, westerners, and Jews as evil ungodly monsters all the time, but they hate it when they get the treatment.

People have seriously forgotten the universal Golden Rule...

300 (2007) - ***1/2 - Very Good

I've not seen the movie, but I thought I comment on the historical facts. Xerxes is the grandson of Cyrus the great, the founder of Achaemenid dynasty. Cyrus had abolished slavery and that's been stated in his charter of human rights. Therefore slavery has been immoral, unlawful and obsolete ever since and it didn't even had a chance of coming back even by dynasties coming to power after Arab invasion.

One of the greatest prides of the Persians is that the landmarks, which has been built in the similar era of those in Greece, has been paid for and is not built by unpaid and mandatory work of slaves.



I've already commented why the Iranian government has acted and jumped on the bandwagon of defending the old Persian heritage, however, this movie seems to offend those that take pride in Persia before Islam and somehow are more inclined to the West.

If there's been a single era that Iran has had sane rulers, marvelous human rights and great freedom, it has been the Achaemenid era, and that's why this movie hits the raw nerves of many that have no affiliation whatsoever with the regime and even have liked the Western culture.

As for the regime, they tend to ignore those glorious periods and teach kids in school that Arab invasion and forcing each Iranian to convert to Islam was a good thing for them and they really could care less how west portrays the ancient Persia and only want to open their place in the heart of their opposition.

Obviously I've not seen this movie yet, nonetheless, even if this movie is a Western propaganda of portraying democratic Greeks as a symbols of democratic Westerns against the barbaric Persians as a symbol of today's Middle Easterns, I still think we should treat it as it is, just a movie.

All great points Afs ,though didn't the rulers under Xerxes have direct rule over their subjects, and such acquired that those farmers, peasants, etc., be drafted up for military duty?

No, Persian army was a very well-paid position that needed great health and a great deal of training. There certainly has been some sort of draft, but only in times of needs, for example in case of defence against an attack.

What this comic is based on is the account of this event by Herodotus, and he has shown tendency of going overboard with his estimations and proportions, as he was also a playwright, and not so faithful to the true historical events. After all, you can't have good drama without over dramatizing events.

He states that the Persian Army was multinational, which must have been true, since Persia was home of near East Asians all the way to the Jerusalem where Hebrews were living, so it is only normal to have Jews and Asians along side the races in the army.

But what can't be possibly true is that the army was consisted of 5,280,000 people, against 300 Spartans, and they consumed the whole river, drying it out. He doesn't mention how one could provide food for such a huge number, even today these numbers of troops are impossible to feed, let alone to move them hundreds of miles.

According to our historians there had been at most 20000 Persians against 3000 Spartans on a narrow road. And Persians were people who had better records of human rights than Spartans or Greeks for that matter at that time. Maybe Xerxes wasn't only trying to expand his kingdom and wanted to give Spartan slaves their freedom as well. But if history has taught us anything, is that people don't like the invaders and would eventually stand up to them.

FYI, I just heard that they are already in the process of dubbing this movie into Persian, in order to show on the local TV. Compared to how they were jumping up and down in fury when each publication was reprinting those prophet cartoons, you might be able to get a feeling as how they've aimed to reach every left wing, old Persian loving, pro West kid here to spread the seed of hatred toward the West and bringing everyone to their hate mongering camp.

RRA, 300 is an adaptation from a graphic novel? That explains. Still my review in the movies thread remains unchanged. I guess it is not my type of movie

I don't blame you at all. More and more, I am just increasingly underwhelmed with 300 the film.

Plus, that SOUTH PARK episode parody really ensured that I can't possibly watch 300 again without seriously Laughing My Ass Off.

"she knew she had to.....MAKE coffee!" *Slow Motion/Bullshit Drama Music*

Anyway, I then realized that the shit that I dug about 300 was from Miller's story in the first place...and that nothing in the film actually made an impression with me. Frank Miller is the man, but Snyder?

Dear God that he doesn't fuck up THE WATCHMEN.

300 (2007) - ***