300: Rise of an Empire

It's been a long time coming for this sequel/prequel...

I was going to try and fit in a Retro Rath's Review for the original 300 earlier this week but alas, life got in the way and I just couldn't find the time to do so. Rest assured that its bound to happen sooner or later but for now I'll just give you a brief synopsis of my thoughts:

The first film is iconic. It was really the first of its kind when it came to transporting a graphic novel onto the movie screen. Just take a trip down memory lane and remember how big the movie 300 was during the year of 2006. Everyone was saying their favorite King Leonidas quotes, doing everything in slow motion, and practicing their fake, glorious deaths. I never really understood how people could hate it. Personally I thought it was like watching artwork on screen. Bloody and gory artwork, yes, but artwork nonetheless. It had an aura of magic and mystery about it...we had all been to ancient Greece and Sparta before in some form or another whether that be through a different movie, books, or school history lessons. But the ancient times that 300 presented left us all (or at least me) in amazement. God kings, absolutely shredded warriors, mythical creatures...oh and some of the best action to grace the silver screen since The Matrix. Seriously, will anyone who saw 300 EVER forget that instantly classic scene of Gerard Butler's King Leonidas side-scrolling through enemy after enemy like it didn't even phase him? Still to this day it's probably the most badass scene I've ever witnessed and it would certainly be in my Top 10 favorite scenes of all time.

So in a nutshell, I loved the original 300. It's a personal favorite of mine especially if you need a movie that you just want to watch rather than think about too hard. Many say that its style over substance and I pretty much agree. BUT it's style over substance perfected.

[In a creepy, high-pitched voice] "I'm baaaaaaaacck!"

Clearly I had high expectations for 300: Rise of an Empire. To me it looked like it had all the makings for a successful sequel and with the addition of Eva Green as the villain I knew it would be fun to watch. And it is very much both of those things. However, taking a step back from all the blood-soaked fighting, pretty imagery, and Greek nudity I have to say that 300: Rise of an Empire is not nearly as iconic as the first film and ever-so-slightly crosses the realm into disappointment.

This is the "After" picture...

I'll start with what worked better in this sequel and that would be the story. I never had a problem with the simplistic story of the original but it was just that: simplistic. Rise of an Empire explains what was happening all around Greece at the time of King Leonidas' march to the hot gates. The Persian army, led once again by the probably-gay and kind of creepy, Xerxes, has become humongous. This is all laid out in a very well done origin story explaining where the God king himself came from and how he came to be. The film continues on to explain what a unified Greece was doing without Spartan help and that basically boils down to ocean warfare. Eventually the movie catches up and surpasses the original film's timeline and we briefly see what is happening after the 300 fell. I think they could have done a better job editing the film's timeline to make it more clear cut where in time the audience is but its not to hard to figure out most times.

Something you should know going into this film is that Themistokles (played by Sullivan Stapleton) is not the film's "King Leonidas". I'll get to that more later but this time around the iconic character of the film is Eva Green's psychotic-but-still-pretty-sexy, Artemisia, the Greek leader of the Persian navy. Green fully embraces every aspect of her role and she is one of the sole aspects that matches the quality of the original film. She fights with the best of the boys and is a ruthless leader that is incredibly fun to watch. Without her the film would have lost a significant amount of its spark.

And this is the "Before"

I believe that if that soldier receives immediate
medical attention we might be able to save him.

Rise of an Empire is never a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, had it been the one to come first it probably would have blown us away much like the original did. And in all honesty maybe its not entirely fair of me to judge the movie solely based off its predecessor. But it's just so damn hard not to. Whereas the original put a painstaking amount of thought, planning, and detail into every frame, Rise of an Empire merely films the proceedings with a much more normal style. There are "graphic novel" images scattered throughout still, but there aren't many that will instantly stand out like the first: King Leonidas standing in the rain, the messenger falling down the pit, the spear soaring through the air towards Xerxes, etc, etc etc. There is still some impressive cinematography to be had in Rise of the Empire but against its older brother it loses that battle. Additionally, for as awesome as the action is Rise of the Empire, it was also done better in the original. Surprisingly, new director, Noam Murro, decided to not have any "uber badass moments" like the one with King Leonidas in the first. Instead he films some fantastically choreographed fight scenes that transition normal pace and slow motion effortlessly. It's all very fun to watch. BUT it's still missing those iconic moments except for one where Themistokles gets on a horse on a boat and destroys foes.

Which leads me to my other point, and perhaps the biggest missing ingredient of the film. Sullivan Stapleton as Themistokles is lifeless. I try not to be too hard on actors because I know I could never do what they do but when put up against Gerard Butler's King Leonidas and many of the other 300 soldiers, Themistokles is boring as all hell. Fun to watch in combat? Absolutely. But everywhere else he comes across as painfully average. I can't remember a single quote from him (probably more of an issue with the script) and he never really gains any sort of personality that isn't flavored vanilla.

I'm often harsher on movies than I should be when I am disappointed by them. Rise of an Empire is a hell of a time at the theaters and if you loved the first one you will enjoy this one too (equally, if you didn't enjoy the first then you won't find anything here to change your mind). But Rise of an Empire has a serious case (other than Green's character) of "been there, done that," syndrome which in and of itself isn't a huge issue (it's a common things for sequels to have), but when you realize that it was done better the first time then it becomes a bit draining on the whole experience.

I asked myself  after the film which 300 I would rather watch given the choice and my answer, easily, was the original.

CONS:

• Probably the biggest of the film: Themistokles is one of the more forgettable heroes in recent memory. The only thing that breaths life into the character is the action because the performance and script certainly don't
• Less attention to detail scene by scene. It feels more like a movie filmed in the style of a graphic novel rather than a graphic novel brought to life. Still gorgeous but we are left with much fewer lasting images and missing that magic that was in the first
• Some missed opportunities when it comes to the action. It was pretty clear what the biggest and best moments of 300 were and it seems like there wasn't really any attempt to try and recreate those here
• It's a film that is just outdone by its predecessor in almost every way, shape, and form. Not by an incredibly large margin, and some differences are bigger than others, but the action, style, acting, soundtrack, and overall feel are all superior in the original
• Ever-so-slightly disappointing

PROS:

• Eva Green steals the show in every scene she is in. Not afraid to go all out (and boy does she) and embrace the role, she has given us a very memorable villain
• The action is still amazing. The fight scenes are choreographed very well and the naval ship battles are smart and refreshing as its something we haven't seen before
• The prequel/sequel story line is well orchestrated and the origins of Xerxes and Artemisia provide character context. It also provides some background to the original film and lays out what the consequences of the 300 were
• Still beautiful to watch. Definitely earns some big style points. Also, kind of random, but the digital blood was MUCH better this time around
• Pretty good soundtrack that leads to some kickass moments
• It's more of 300 and in my book, that's never a bad thing

Rath's Review Score: 7.5/10