Written by William Cutforth

Edited by Matt Wilson

WARNING: SPOILERS ALERT

 

‘300’ was one of the great films of the 21st Century, bringing originality, new techniques in camerawork and fighting style, and teaching us that the underdog can in fact make a big impact. ‘300: Rise of an Empire’ however brought disappointment, lack of character development and a story that was predictable and boring to say the least.

‘300’ was a one-of-a-kind historical adventure in which we felt a connection to King Leonidas and in the end his demise hit us all like a ton of bricks. Sullivan Stapleton’s Themistocles is a washed up version of Leonidas and we don’t care to get to know him. His speeches are recycled and it just felt like Hollywood was trying to cash in on a film that grossed over $210million at the US box office.

“Tonight we Dine in Hell” and “THIS IS SPARTA!!!” are memorable lines that were part of the likeable and fresh ideas springing from Zack Snyder, Michael B. Gordon and the team bringing Frank Miller’s graphic novel to the silver screen. After watching ‘300: Rise of an Empire’ I can’t tell you one line that will stick in my head forever and, for the follow up to a film I hold as one of my favourites of all time, that is atrocious.

The historical accuracy in ‘300: Rise of an Empire’ is poor. Both this film and the original were based on historical battles, and ‘300’, for the most part, was historically accurate, whereas this film is way off. Themistocles wasn’t even the one to start the war between the Persians and Athenians. Darius wasn’t at the Battle of Marathon. I could go on and on, but I think you get my point.

I haven’t seen ‘Man of Steel’ because of my disgust for Superman and everything he stands for, but I am starting to believe that Zack Snyder is a one hit wonder with ‘300’. Take ‘Sucker Punch’ for example. Was that supposed to be a female version of ‘300’ or what? We get that he has his own spin on films and that he likes comics. We get that he wants to show that in his movies, but when you’re comic book / Graphic Novel films are starting to be of the same originality as 'Kick ass 2' you know that’s when you need to rethink your ideas.

To sum up then, ‘300: Rise of an Empire’ is by far the most misleading title that you will read today. This film was, in many more ways than one, a complete farce. If you loved the first one, please avoid this film, as it tears down everything ‘300’ stood for.