Fans of Scottish actor Gerard Butler, such as myself, as well as Sci-Fi fans all over the Internet, have been waiting with baited breath for months for the release of Frank Miller's graphic novel, "300," about the historic Battle of Thermopolae, in which 300 Spartan warriors did bloody battle with a million Persians, led by man-god-giant, Xerxes, hell-bent on taking over the world.
My husband and I, along with a more than a half-dozen or so other members of GerardButler.Net and their significant others, stood in line at the IMAX theater at Jordan's in Natick, Mass., last night for an hour, thanking our lucky stars that we had preordered tickets. There were signs posted everywhere stating that all of the evenings FIVE shows were completely sold out.
Around us were several hundred or so of Warner Bros.' target audience - young males between 18 and 25. And they were pumped. While we waited for the theater to open its doors, we were entertained with shouts of "Tonight we dine in hell!" or "This...is.....SPARTA!!!"
Let me add here that I'm finding it very difficult today to put into words what I thought of the movie and how it made me feel, so bear with me while I do the best I can.
I had never seen anything like it before. The entire look and feel of the film was different from anything I've ever experienced. I was worried that I would be repulsed by the gore and violence, but I wasn't. Not in the least. A couple of times, admittedly, I let out an involuntary "ewww" but it was otherwise almost like a painting brought to life, with splatters hitting the canvas from out of nowhere. It was very cool to see.
During the battle scenes, my heart wasnt just pounding....it was slamming in my chest. The slow-motion effects came at exactly the perfect moments, the story never slowed down, it was a high-speed train ride all the way to the end. And when the character of the deformed man who had been following the Spartans finally went over to the dark side, as he was seduced by the whores at Xerxes' tent, I turned to my husband and said, "Fookin men. Everything's got to be about the whang." LOL
I recognized some of the cast, but only knew David Wenham, of whom I'm not really a fan. And although I thought he was very good in his role, I thought he was using some strange, old-manish tone in his voice that I know he didn't have in Lord of the Rings (in which I liked him very much). I thought he was forcing some attempt at something he wasn't, although I have to admit, the scene at the end was so astounding and lifting, I was completely caught up in the rush of the call to attack and probably would have followed him myself.
I wish I knew the name of the actor who played the Captain off the top of my head, but it escapes me at the moment, but his performace was awesome! When his son died, and he went into a blind fury, it was truly something to see. He was incredible.
Lena Headey was a strong, sexy Queen Gorgo. She was a perfect compliment to Gerry's Leonidas (and my husband liked her a LOT! LOL) . And yes, I loved the scene where she killed the politician. Sorry, but he deserved it. Spartan girl power at its finest.
The much anticipated love scene between Leonidis (who had a great ass, by the way) and Gorgo, in my humble opinion, was beautiful, but way to short and not at all graphic enough. What can I say? That's just me. Tomato, tomahto.
I also just want to throw out some very well-deserved kudos to director Zack Snyder. I'm not a huge moviegoer; I can't afford to be. I haven't seen Sin City or Dawn of the Dead. But "300" is a movie that will stay with me. I'll see it over and over and as often as I possibly can. It's just that good.
Gerry Butler was every inch the king he was channeling. And I'm not just talking about the rock-hard bod, either, although it was impressive (sigh). I haven't seen every single movie Gerry's ever made, but I've seen enough of them to know that this man is the real deal. He works his ass off to be better every time he gets in front of that camera. He puts every fiber of his being into every role he takes on. I look forward to what's next for him.
My husband and I, along with a more than a half-dozen or so other members of GerardButler.Net and their significant others, stood in line at the IMAX theater at Jordan's in Natick, Mass., last night for an hour, thanking our lucky stars that we had preordered tickets. There were signs posted everywhere stating that all of the evenings FIVE shows were completely sold out.
Around us were several hundred or so of Warner Bros.' target audience - young males between 18 and 25. And they were pumped. While we waited for the theater to open its doors, we were entertained with shouts of "Tonight we dine in hell!" or "This...is.....SPARTA!!!"
Let me add here that I'm finding it very difficult today to put into words what I thought of the movie and how it made me feel, so bear with me while I do the best I can.
I had never seen anything like it before. The entire look and feel of the film was different from anything I've ever experienced. I was worried that I would be repulsed by the gore and violence, but I wasn't. Not in the least. A couple of times, admittedly, I let out an involuntary "ewww" but it was otherwise almost like a painting brought to life, with splatters hitting the canvas from out of nowhere. It was very cool to see.
During the battle scenes, my heart wasnt just pounding....it was slamming in my chest. The slow-motion effects came at exactly the perfect moments, the story never slowed down, it was a high-speed train ride all the way to the end. And when the character of the deformed man who had been following the Spartans finally went over to the dark side, as he was seduced by the whores at Xerxes' tent, I turned to my husband and said, "Fookin men. Everything's got to be about the whang." LOL
I recognized some of the cast, but only knew David Wenham, of whom I'm not really a fan. And although I thought he was very good in his role, I thought he was using some strange, old-manish tone in his voice that I know he didn't have in Lord of the Rings (in which I liked him very much). I thought he was forcing some attempt at something he wasn't, although I have to admit, the scene at the end was so astounding and lifting, I was completely caught up in the rush of the call to attack and probably would have followed him myself.
I wish I knew the name of the actor who played the Captain off the top of my head, but it escapes me at the moment, but his performace was awesome! When his son died, and he went into a blind fury, it was truly something to see. He was incredible.
Lena Headey was a strong, sexy Queen Gorgo. She was a perfect compliment to Gerry's Leonidas (and my husband liked her a LOT! LOL) . And yes, I loved the scene where she killed the politician. Sorry, but he deserved it. Spartan girl power at its finest.
The much anticipated love scene between Leonidis (who had a great ass, by the way) and Gorgo, in my humble opinion, was beautiful, but way to short and not at all graphic enough. What can I say? That's just me. Tomato, tomahto.
I also just want to throw out some very well-deserved kudos to director Zack Snyder. I'm not a huge moviegoer; I can't afford to be. I haven't seen Sin City or Dawn of the Dead. But "300" is a movie that will stay with me. I'll see it over and over and as often as I possibly can. It's just that good.
Gerry Butler was every inch the king he was channeling. And I'm not just talking about the rock-hard bod, either, although it was impressive (sigh). I haven't seen every single movie Gerry's ever made, but I've seen enough of them to know that this man is the real deal. He works his ass off to be better every time he gets in front of that camera. He puts every fiber of his being into every role he takes on. I look forward to what's next for him.
3 comments:
::applaud applaud::
I blogged, too. What writer could contain all of the roiling emotions that this movie evokes?
Fabulous movie. Fabulous Gerard Butler. Fabulous Lena Headey. Perfect cast. Loved it, loved it, loved it. I can't think of a single thing I would change.
Oh, and I, too, was destroyed by the Captain of the guard's overwhelming sorrow at the loss of his eldest son. A masterful performance. I was going to IMDB him to see what other movies he has been in.
Madly
That's just the way I felt ... overwhelmed. It was beautiful, and frightening, and moving. Gerry made me cry at the end when he knew he was going to die, to leave his queen. The whole cast was wonderful, the CGI stunningly beautiful. I loved it and can't wait to see it again!
For someone who was having a hard time putting what she felt into words, you sure did a fine job ... as always!!
Merry
great review. only thing I disagree with is about David Wenham, I'm not a huge fan of his myself (although I did like him in LOTR) - I liked his narrative voice. the odd thing is that I couldn't tell if there was an accent or not with him (I didn't even notice Gerry's accent the first time I saw it...).
anyways, other than that ..I totally agree with you.
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