40in40 – 300
My Netflix rating: 4.5/5 stars
A bad ass narrative voice, check. One of the most memorable lines of the decade, check. Gratuitous sex, double check. Amazing on IMAX, check. Amazing, gratuitous sex on IMAX… you get the point. And this was only after the first 22 minutes.
300 raked in $70 million its opening weekend, the 3rd highest R-rated movie debut. Its lifetime gross ranks among the company of The Matrix Reloaded and Saving Private Ryan. What made this movie work so well? I mean, it took only 60 days to film for goodness sakes. There are no big names associated with it, except for producer Frank Miller (who did Sin City a couple of years before) and Gerard Butler (who’s best known for having a mask over his face). And there’s a distinct homosexual undertone. But whatever this movie lacked, it made up for it with an abundance of blood, slow motion, and abdominal muscle. This movie works because it delivers exactly what it says it would.
Just as the Spartans were supremely confident and relentless, carrying on without any fear of failure, so does this movie march forward with the certainty that its audience will love every minute. And for 116 minutes, I was in love. I was enamored by the elegant choreography. I appreciated the predictable, yet mercifully simple plot. The artwork was visually stimulating and Xerxes’ voice literally rocked me in IMAX. Yes, for nearly two hours I was caught up in the most sensual movie I’ve ever seen.
I think I should confess here that this was my first time, in IMAX. I had heard so much about it, but I didn’t think it could possibly live up to the hype. Then I walked in and saw how big it was – nearly twice as big as any other theater I’ve been to. I was intimidated! But 300… I couldn’t have asked for a better movie to lose my IMAX virginity to. It took things nice and slow and it knew what it was doing the whole time. I felt safe. I didn’t think I could ever like a movie with guys wearing eye-liner, but everything fit together so nicely. There was a nice balance of action and drama. The passion and the testosterone were all-consuming. I allowed myself to get carried away.
Did I mention the homosexual undertone?
In short, the movie did just what it was supposed to. Movies are meant to have a short, yet compelling arch to them. In two hours, they’re supposed to catch your attention, drive home a point, and leave you with a taste in your mouth, sweet or bitter. That’s why everybody watches them. That’s why millions of movies have been made. But very few can deliver like this one. Watch it and see how 300 can defeat millions.
“Your lips can finish what your fingers have started.” –Queen Gorgo… what a slut.
Filed under: 40in40 | 5 Comments
Tags: 300, homo, spartans
You touch on this but I really really think the male nudity was for guys. Not to say girls can’t enjoy chiseled abs and buff arms but I half-expected the guys watching the movie around me to just start spanking the monkey right there in the theater.
dude, don’t you think the movie is really repetitive? it’s just the same thing over and over after the first day/night of battle.
there’s nothing as homo-erotic as the god king xerxes (kevin garnett) putting his hands on leonidas’ shoulders. imagine one of your buddies doing this to you. i’m going to do this to you tonight – and tell you that you can have all of the land and girls that you desire.
absolutely, i think the story was really basic. really, all that happens is that they go off to war and the queen uncovers a traitor. you gotta milk that for 2 hours! i think they did a good job making those fights increasingly entertaining. it was like getting to the next level of a video game, fighting harder bad guys, but learning new moves. but yea, it’s the same video game.
You are generous as you are homo, O shin of shins.
Maybe it’s the fault of the my short attention span but it was hard for me to concentrate on this movie. Although I gotta say I have never seen that many chiseled abs on the same screen before.
Only thing that I can distinctly remember about this movie now is how i felt so bad for that humpbacked dude who wanted to join the spartan army but ended up being rejected.
And yes, the homosexual undertone.
I always wondered, how does Dilios know everything that went on on the battlefield when he was sent home before the last fight happened?