Alex Aloise - 300

I know I'm waaayyy behind on these blogs, so now's my time to get up to date.

300. As far as war movies go, this one is probably near the top on my list. I've never been one to really go for long, war epics. To me, if you've seen one, you've seen them all. Thus my contempt for The Patriot, a cheap rehashing of Braveheart (a far better film) set further ahead in history. Or Gladiator, in my opinion one of the single-most overrated films in history. Been there, seen that. But I think 300 showed that the war-epic-genre is far from dead or stagnant. This film breathed new life into the genre. From its straight, to the point storytelling, to its breathtaking visual style, the film proved to me that these types of movies can still be incredibly entertaining. I was not aware of this particular historical battle before seeing the film. And while I know that the film was greatly exaggerated it still does not take away from the fact that an army of 300 vs. an army of millions is an incredibly compelling story. I liked the way that the Spartan way of thinking and fighting was explained. The scene with the oracle on the top of the mountain showed exactly how spiritual these warriors actually were. The fact that they needed permission from beyond before they engaged in battle was fascinating. Also, their idea of an honorable death in battle really captured my imagination. The Spartans were such proud warriors that they actually looked forward to death if it happened during a fight! That's amazing. The film was excellent. My only complaint, again, i know the story was exaggerated, but don't you think the Spartans would have at least worn a little more armor?