Review: Butler Anchors Big Screen Adaptation of 300

Mar 09

AndrewMovies , , Comments Off

300 the Warner Bros. film is a magnificent adaptation of the Frank Miller comic book of the same name. Gerard Butler anchors a masterful cinematic production that takes all the elements of Miller’s story and weaves them into a brutal and beautiful tale of Sparta’s first stand against the invading Persian empire.

300 doesn’t feel like other comic book film adaptations like the crowd-pleasing hits Spider-Man and Superman Returns. It understandably most closely visually resembles Sin City, the other recent film adaptation of a Frank Miller comic book with its animated backgrounds and bleached color palettes. Those elements that make it so unique work against it for a mainstream audience, who tittered at certain moments at the fantastic imagery.

But what reins it in is the performances of the leads Butler and Lena Headey. Butler plays Leonidas, the Spartan king who leads 300 soldiers against the unending Persian troops while his Queen Gorgo (Headey) tries to convince the politicians back home to send reinforcements. Butler is impressive at the head of the small army, tapping the right notes of inspiration and courage, and giving us a great sense of the Spartan manner. Headey is no slouch herself. Her scenes are quieter, away from the field of battle, but no less intense. This queen kicks ass.

The sequences of the story were fashioned directly from Miller’s work, with liberties taken to flesh out the story for the big screen. Director Zack Snyder pauses at times for us to just soak in the imagery and if anything, that itself evokes the construction of a comic book tale better than any film ever has. But that style works against the film because rather than coming across like a Ancient Greek Matrix, the movie takes on the aesthetic of an art gallery. This truly was a live action Frank Miller graphic novel.

Some people in the audience got it, but just as many didn’t. Images of the Persian debaucheries, and the mangled, mutilated Persian enforcers, didn’t strike a note of awe or even horror but rather got laughs from the audience. Only the Spartans connected with the crowd and maybe that was just the way it was supposed to be. Synder perfectly sets up the Persians as the bad guys and the Spartans has good guys. We are cheering for Leonidas and his men from the moment that he executes a Persian messenger to the glorious and bloody end.

The battle scenes are exquisite. Though it is an artifice of movies that the heroes are invulnerable and that individual contests between one Spartan and one Persian Immortal can take place on-screen exclusive of the war being waged around it. The film itself has a singular storyline to tell, the Spartan stand ahead of the Persian invasion of Greece but each wave of the Persian invasion is mesmerizing. And it is perhaps to Synder’s credit that right up until the end, we don’t really know how it’s going to end (unless you read the comic book.) That glimmer of hope that carries the Spartans through an endless onslaught is imbued into the audience.

So while 300 is a comic book adaptation first and foremost, it is also a universal story of sacrifice and love and perseverance. Above all, it is the actors that make this film work by connecting to the human heart of the matter. We are convinced in the glory of Sparta because Butler and others make us believe in it. And that is masterful cinema.

300 Brings Miller’s Unique Vision Back to Theaters

Feb 01

AndrewMovies , , Comments Off

Just like the film adaptation of Frank Miller’s Sin City, produced with a unique combination of special effects, computer graphics and live acting, Warner Bros. Pictures film 300 promises to adapt a thrilling Frank Miller saga to the big screen in a startling and dramatic fashion.

The film takes actual panels from the original comic book publication which was offered as a five-issue limited series by Dark Horse Comics in 1998 written and illustrated by Miller. Using dialogue and sequences from the comic book (which was reprinted as a single graphic novel the following year) the script was formed to fill in the storytelling for the cinema.

Already, previews are giving the audience a taste of a different theater experience, due to overlaying live action with computer generated backgrounds, and swathing the film in a unique color palette. The live action filming took place in front of a blue screen so the background and effects could be filled in around the actors. Like the film Sin City, the whole look of 300 is very unique to cinema, ethereal and unworldly, eschewing a modern quality to evoke a more barbaric vibe. 300 takes its visual inspiration directly from the graphic novel, using actual scenes not just to tell the story, but to plot camera angles and pacing.

300 is the story of the Battle of Thermopylae that pit the “300″ Spartans against the Persian army. The events date back to 480 B.C. and in the film, the story is narrated by Dilios (played by David Wenham.) The Spartan army, led by King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) fight against the invasion of the Persian army into Greece.

The film was directed by Zack Snyder whose director credit is basically the 2004 version of Dawn of the Dead, and the upcoming Watchmen, another graphic novel adaptation. 300 is receiving both HD and 3D treatment for its March 9 release date and will be seen in traditional movie theaters and IMAX theaters.

Message boards are already debating the historical accuracy of the film, though the filmmakers smartly said earlier this year, when marketing kicked into high gear, that they were emphasizing the legend as envisioned by Frank Miller and not treating the film as a historical record. The film takes as much visual license with the era as the comic book did, and it’s not hard to guess that there was a certain amount of reworking to make it work as a movie. Besides the critics who will nitpick small details, the biggest complaint seems to be the story portrays the Persian empire as the bad guys. But that perspective, as much Miller’s as Snyder’s, also ignores the fact that modern cinema needs a good guy versus bad guy format to appeal to 2007 audiences.

Regardless, for those who can take in 300 for what it is, breathtaking storytelling on an ancient battleground, it promises to be a rewarding movie experience. The film is expected to make its worldwide debut at the Berlin International Film Festival in February, and will be released in theaters on March 9.