Several Spartans walking over layers of fallen bodies with oversized spears thrust, as if spear fishing, at unseen wounded with vivid audio enhancement. They stroll to and fro continuously returning to the same seemingly undead as one Persian atop the pile struggles for life unnoticed in their midst. With shades of his movie “Dawn of the Dead” (2004) Zack Snyder infuses “300”, an adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, with a comic moment to accentuate the tragic. A tactic reminiscent of Hong Kong films fails in this historic action drama genre.
Acclaimed for its cinematography and dedication to Frank Miller’s portrayal of the infamous battle what is or was Sparta, one of many Greek cities of diverse origin, is lost as hundreds of years of Greek history and philosophy (Spartans were not big readers) are infused into a single lunar cycle. From the oracle being bribed to deceive the Spartans, an event a generation earlier that brought democracy to Athens, to the phalanx meets mounted elephant, reflecting the days of Alexander the Great, visuals take precedent over comprehension of unwavering self sacrifice. The true oracle, proclaiming the utter destruction of Lacedeamon (Sparta and its lands) or the death of its King, is ignored. Their devotion to the spiritual further negated in Leonidas’ philosophical exaltations against the gods, a thought originating in the Athens of the future.
Some alterations play well. The portrayal of Ephialtes, played by Andrew Tiernan, born to Sparta deformed and saved from death by the flight of his parents, evince a fate for innocence disparaged. Xerxes played by Rodrigo Santoro, towering over all with godlike self-acclamations fits the bill of nemesis, creating a superb though simple backdrop in this good versus evil conflict. Gerard Butler as Leonidas, Lena Headey as his wife Gorgo and Nathan West as Theron, your classic Judas, all put in excellent performances where the script doesn’t become painfully predictable and cliché. Closer scrutiny of dialogue is one of many opportunities the producers missed to create a true epic.
The opening battle sequence is truly spectacular and overwhelms. The following battle scenes play like a video game (game previews available before the movies release) more than the story of a people fighting for their way of life. With the movie closing in a ruse to make a ‘god-king bleed’, the final day of fighting ends in mere moments. Trying to draw out the Persian Emperor and deception was a likely part of the Spartan strategy. However, reducing a highly committed yet doomed force fighting for their freedom and beliefs in a battle that shaped history to mere moments fails to understand the extent of Spartan abilities and convictions. A lifestyle admired still today and embodied in modern military disciplines that continue to influence the world for the better.
According to “The Histories” Leonidas died in the midst of that final day spurring a fight over his body that caused Xerxes to fear for his entire army despite the 50-1 advantage (if not 1000-1) some modern historians calculate. Falling back behind a defensive wall the remaining Spartans met the immortals advancing from the rear at a small rise as other Greeks and helots manned the ramparts. Spears turned to splinters, shields mangled and torn entangling rather than blocking Persian weapons, short swords broken and battered into glorified stones, Persian soldiers battering the wall with their bodies in fevered frenzy, the fighting turning to ‘teeth and nail’ before Xerxes ordered ‘missiles of every sort’ to end the melee. Obviously the software to create a true portrayal to enjoy from ones couch has yet to be developed.
The same in death as in life the 300 keep and defended hard-earned traditions and values, their sacrifice undeniable in any adaptation. The discipline, denial and faith in a way of life that gave them purpose, unity and a shared identity known the world over, elements required to maintain any civilization, are diminished in the artistic adventure. The comments of Richard Roeper on “Ebert and Roeper” summing it up best with; “Severed heads have never looked so pretty on the screen.”
And then we wonder why?
Greek Battles
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