11th March 2007, 9:01 AM
Director: Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead 2004)
Writer/Co-Director: Frank Miller (original comic, Sin City comic, helped direct Sin City movie)
*minor spoilers ahead, but if you already know the outcome of the Battle of Thermopylae, then it's not a big deal*
I saw it in the theater last night. I thought it was predictable at times, and a bit repetitive, but it was still watchable. They used a pet peeve of mine - speeding up and slowing down the film during action sequences. I HATE this trend with all my little black heart, because it's run approximately 300 feet into the ground by this point and less realistic than showing a normal frame-rate (then again, who goes to a movie based on a Frank Miller comic and expects realism?). I can see how that can make the fighting scenes more palatable (i.e. slowing down during the important part, when someone actually gets stabbed and killed), but they went a little crazy with it. It sounded cheesy to play rock music during certain sequences, too. And it was a little irritating when they slowed down the film during parts where nothing was really going on, like following the queen in that one shot without knowing her endeavors. What was the point?
It was still awesome how they showed highlights of a Spartan boy growing up, (though the wolf at the end of the sequence looked poorly rendered). I liked the gore from the fighting scenes, and characters' costumers were lush and beautiful. I wish I would have seen more Spartans die in the first few battles (it seemed like little, if any, did) to properly show their sacrifice, instead of most of them dying at the last stand, but oh well.
Overall, I'd give it a C+. Not terribly impressive, but watchable and a decent popcorn flick.
Writer/Co-Director: Frank Miller (original comic, Sin City comic, helped direct Sin City movie)
*minor spoilers ahead, but if you already know the outcome of the Battle of Thermopylae, then it's not a big deal*
I saw it in the theater last night. I thought it was predictable at times, and a bit repetitive, but it was still watchable. They used a pet peeve of mine - speeding up and slowing down the film during action sequences. I HATE this trend with all my little black heart, because it's run approximately 300 feet into the ground by this point and less realistic than showing a normal frame-rate (then again, who goes to a movie based on a Frank Miller comic and expects realism?). I can see how that can make the fighting scenes more palatable (i.e. slowing down during the important part, when someone actually gets stabbed and killed), but they went a little crazy with it. It sounded cheesy to play rock music during certain sequences, too. And it was a little irritating when they slowed down the film during parts where nothing was really going on, like following the queen in that one shot without knowing her endeavors. What was the point?
It was still awesome how they showed highlights of a Spartan boy growing up, (though the wolf at the end of the sequence looked poorly rendered). I liked the gore from the fighting scenes, and characters' costumers were lush and beautiful. I wish I would have seen more Spartans die in the first few battles (it seemed like little, if any, did) to properly show their sacrifice, instead of most of them dying at the last stand, but oh well.
Overall, I'd give it a C+. Not terribly impressive, but watchable and a decent popcorn flick.