A Preview of the Movie "300"

Over the recent years, it's been really hard to find a good movie that neatly blends action, drama, history, adventure, and eye-candy into one epic masterpiece. In fact, it's been a long while. But now, with the release of "300", being a few months away, movie goers can hopefully get a taste of cinematic artistry at its best.

The movie "300", which is based on Frank Miller's graphic novel by the same name, is premised on the historic Battle of Thermopylae, a battle taking place around 480 BC during the Greco-Persian Wars. According to records, at the height of this battle, a small force of approximately 300 Spartans and hundreds of other Greek volunteers, under the leadership of King Leonidas (King of Sparta), fended off an overwhelming army of Persians at the pass of Thermopylae, the one pass that separated the Persians from the rest of Greece. Known as perhaps the greatest last stand in all of history, this small force, before being completely decimated, managed to hold off the entire Persian army long enough to buy time for the safe retreat of other Greek forces and for the rest of Greece to prepare for the invasion.

As someone who has only a passing familiarity with the graphic novels of Frank Miller, but who is informed enough to know that, so far, his work has received fluid translation to the big screen ("Sin City" comes to mind instantly), there is very little doubt in my mind that the movie "300" will be faithful to its graphic novel roots. This is further enforced by the fact that Frank Miller, himself, is attached as an executive producer to the film, according to the Internet Movie Database. For all you Frank Miller fans out there, this should at least give you good hope that much of the original material will remain intact. For those of you who are not that familiar with the graphic novel or the actual event itself, there is still much promise in what the movie may offer, at least in terms of entertainment value. The theatrical trailer, itself, is a very handy testimony to this.

As soon as the trailer begins the viewer is treated to a feast of sensual effects, including a powerful soundtrack of robust vocals, grandiose battle scenes of epic proportions, and heavy handed acting delivered by heavy handed actors, namely Gerard Butler who also played the Phantom in the movie version of "The Phantom of the Opera". All of this is further topped off by the use of an amplified color contrast scheme for the film environment giving it both a legendary feel and a defining sense of both antiquity and mythology. Does this guarantee a good movie? Not necessarily. Could this just be the beginning of hype that could lead to the demise of a potentially good film? Maybe, but this does give promise to at least an entertaining ride.

For those interested in taking a peak, official trailers and teasers are available for download at Yahoo! Movies and the official "300" site (see "Additional Resources").

Directed by Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) and starring Gerard Butler (Phantom of the Opera) as King Leonidas, "300" is currently slated to hit theatres on March 9, 2007.