300. I saw it. I liked it. It isn’t history or the only thinly veiled social commentary one expects from comics produced after 1995.

It draws heavily from history for its substance but it isn’t history, not even close. It’s also done in comic book style. Everything is at the extremes---mega-pretty or mega-ugly; mega-virtuous or mega-unvirtuous. It’s a binary world. Good guys wear leather Speedos and carry bronze shields (with the inverted V, but not done in red like I am used to seeing.). Bad guys wear not-leather Speedos and lots of gold.

Aside: “Then we will fight in the shade.” That line always brings a smile to my face, ever since I first heard it in The 300, the 1960s version of history. That ranks right up there with “Nuts” as one of the gutsiest military quotes of all time.

The talk of politics being inherent to the film shows some real shallow thinking; a real lacking grasp of the actual event and all of its particulars; and a refusal to see the piece for what it is in gollom’s opinion. It’s hagiography of the Spartans, King Leonidas in particular, done in full comic book super-hero over the top coolness. Live action anime would be a good description--- there actually were moments when I expected someone to yell ‘Hitten-misturugi style…” as they cut someone down, but that would be un-Spartan like.

It’s a comic book paeon to Leonidas brought to life without a whole lot of ‘lessons’ to be taken home, not even historical ones. Full stop. Going past that and you’re making straw men, revealing far more about you than the film itself.

At the end of the day gollum liked 300. It entertained him for two hours. If you’re a Castle regular you’ll probably enjoy it too.
--ry