300 Stars for 300
Reviewed by CaptMarc for 300 at 2009-11-21 10:49:18
The movie 300 is all about a few men (300) facing thousands (the enemy) against overwhelming odds. Courage, duty, honor, and loyalty to the nth degree mixed with some great special effects, good screen play, and a plot based on history equals a movie to own. I liked the sepia/color artistic flair that the movie was filmed in too. There's an ogre battle scene that will chill you to the bone. It will have you returning to your scene selection screen time and time again.
I disagree. I think that Snyder is in a no-win situation here. As mentioned, to make a film replicating the entire Watchmen series would be 4 hours ? at least. The alternative was to ?interpret? the series and make it more watchable for people who have never read the book. Of course, had he done this, fans would be enraged that he had prostituted Alan Moore?s masterpiece just to make it ?Hollywood?. Instead, he stuck as closely to the story as he could, crammed as much as possible in under 3 hours and produced what I?m sure most fans would agree, is a pretty great homage to one of the best graphic novels written. Seeing almost exact images from the book translated to the big screen was a thrill and I thought they did a great job. I thought the cast portrayed the ?feel? of the book very well. While the sex scene may have been a bit overdone I thought the overall relationship was just as believable in the movie as it was in the book. Haley played Rorchach to perfection and Patrick Wilson made a good Dan Dreiberg.
Having said that, I?m curious to see how people who have never read the book will take this movie. Personally, I think that without the benefit of reading the book and having the entire back story, the movie wouldn?t be nearly as enjoyable. I don?t think this works well as just a standalone movie the way other comic book movies do ? you don?t need to read a Batman comic to enjoy ?The Dark Knight?.
As a big fan of the book and of Alan Moore?s work I thought this was a great movie and I can?t wait to see the longer director?s cut.