Film Review: 300: Rise of an Empire

The battle of Thermopylae was a glorious last stand, in which 300 Spartans and a small number of allies fended off an insurmountable enemy for three whole days.  As significant as the battle was, it was just one small piece of the Greco-Persian Wars; while the battle raged on, General Themistocles led the Athenian navy against the Persians at the straits of Artemisium.  The Persian fleet had the advantage with a whole vast number of bigger and better ships; just as the 300 Spartans had to face vast numbers of enemies for three whole days, so did 280 small Athenian vessels.  The history nerd in me was always interested to see how the naval battles of Artemisium and Salamis would look on the big screen.

300:  Rise of an Empire simultaneously follows up on, precedes, and runs along side with the events of the film 300, using these naval battles as the focal point.  In a way, the film is merely more of the same, using the same plot structure, character archetypes, and execution in a different set of battles.  It is definitely a blast though:  the battle scenes are as stylish and intense as ever.  There are bucketloads of blood drenching the screen with nearly every swipe of the sword.  There is massive mayhem when the ships collide and armies clash on the broken decks.  The film still uses the same tone and style as its predecessor, providing a vividly mythic account of these historic events.

The story elaborates on some of the things that were left hanging in the first film, such as showing how Xerxes became the "god king," and what every kingdom's reaction is to Leonidas' death.  The bulk of the story focuses on General Themistocles, who is never really given much depth or presence, and his nemesis Artemisia, who steals the show repeatedly thanks to her wickedly-invoking backstory and a wickedly-invoking performance by Eva Green.  Really, Artemisia alone made the events captivating; without her, it would have been a much duller tale.  The plot breezes through the battles and backstories before abruptly ending right at the climax of the Battle of Salamis; it's a bit jarring that there's no falling action before the credits, but there's still just enough closure to make the film satisfying.

There are historical liberties, of course.  Some of the exaggerations of the first film remain (people still don't wear body armor, choosing to show off their abs instead; Ephialtes is still a hunchback; Persians still have elephants and monsters in battle, and they also deploy an ironclad ship at one point).  Many of the basic events are solid, but with a few discrepancies (both Xerxes and Darius were never at the Battle of Marathon; Artemisia was absent during the Battle of Salamis).  However, some of the artistic choices that made the first 300 so imaginative are sorely missed in the sequel.  There is nothing really new added to the lore that's already established.  Since Frank Miller's graphic novel Xerxes is not yet published, I have no idea how the film compares to it.

As expected, this film is loaded with numerous slow-motion shots and scenes with CGI backdrops.  Just like the first movie, this one looks like a live-action graphic novel, and is generally interesting to watch.  I think a lot of scenes look great.  Editing is alright.  Acting is okay; Sullivan Stapleton tries his best, but never quite matches the machismo and presence that Gerard Butler had in the first movie.  Eva Green is effectively perfect as Artemisia.  I enjoyed everybody else's performances too.  Writing is not too bad.  This production uses some slick-looking sets, props, and costumes.  Special effects can be good in some scenes, bad in others, and most of the CGI blood doesn't look very convincing.  I thought JXL's music score was a bit dry to listen to on its own, but when married with the movie, it was awesome.

This film entwines itself with 300 pretty well, and provides enough blood-soaked action to appease fans.  It's not without its faults, and the first film is still the best and most original.  I still thought that Rise of an Empire totally rocked.

4/5 (Entertainment:  Very Good | Story:  Pretty Good | Film:  Good)