Review : Movie" "300"

I often get very excited about such and such a movie, vow to go see it in the theatre and never get around to it for whatever reason. I like going to the movies; whenever I go I always leave feeling as if I have just been well entertained (with the exception of "Oscar and Lucinda," which annoyed me so badly that I kicked a wall upon exiting, and "Robin Hood: Men in Tights," because I just don't enjoy that type of comedy). If a movie is one where there will appear to be broad vistas, rich scenery or a hot actor, I will especially vehement about seeing it in wide screen. And yet... One such example of this behavior is the movie "300" which fascinated me from the beginning. I had not been familiar with Frank Miller's graphic novel, but the subject is one of my pet interests and the visuals looked stunning. And all of the guys in it looked totally ripped, and who doesn't want to see that on the big screen? I ended up watching it on DVD Saturday night and was not disappointed. It was a good yarn and the men were, indeed, quite ripped and manly. I cannot imagine any of the Spartans waiting in line at a Starbucks and caring how many shots of expresso they get; though that is a line one would not want to be in. It was quite stirring and despite the many times I have read how gruesome it is, I did not find it overly so. There were a couple of distractions: when Xerxes appears it reminded me, almost to a point of distraction, of the Ra character played by Jaye Davidson in one of my favorite movies, "Stargate." Did the historical figure, son of Darius I and the daughter of Cyrus, really go into battle with that much body paint? Also, the scenes were the traitorous Spartan is lured to betray his people were far too short. I would have really enjoyed seeing what else went on at Xerxes' camp or court. It looked pretty interesting. Xerves' version of the Elite Republican Guard- The Immortals- were pretty scary. The Persians had it going on with the effect of how to intimidate their enemies with props, costuming and scary creatures. It reminded me of one of my other favorite movies, "The 13th Warrior," which also had very scary opponents. I think the two movies have some themes in common- fighting in a potentially unwinnable (except morally) situation, clash of cultures...hmmn. A lot has been written about the metaphor one can take from the movie regarding currently events, so I will not bother with it. One can think what one wants. I will say, though, that the East, i.e. the Persians, were definitely the barbarians and there is no doubt of it. It seemed perhaps a little cartoon like ( forgive the pun) at times. But I suppose if one will take out of it what one wants. For me, I would think one would want to find out more about Xerxes and the fate of Greece, to look behind the glitter and chains to see how someone so eccentric could be so powerful, and was Sparta and democracy really all they advertised? But then, it all depends on what you want to take away. If you want blood and gore you will be plenty satisfied but you may also be forced to think a little. And yes, the men were really ripped. But would they have watched "Scrubs" with you?