300

89

Shakespeare it is not, but the film 300 is 2 hours or intense carnival-like action wrapped in wonderful, sharp, and refreshing effects that rarely stop.

After being very excited about this film, I was able to temper my expectations the day before I saw 300 and forced myself to realize that this was not going to be The Lord of the Rings - there was not going to be very good writing, and the acting may not be superb. I was still looking forward to the action and style of the film but by the next afternoon I was sufficiently level-headed when entering the theater...the IMAX theater.

For the ladies and/or more squeamish amongst you: Yes this is a violent movie, there is really no getting around that. I found, however that the violence was easier to take because of the way it was styled. Maybe it just wore me down with scene after bloody battle scene, but halfway through I was actually smiling at the blood splatter effect they used. It had a comic book feel that was very familiar after a dozen or so times it was used and consequently lost its gory feel.

Seeing 300 at an IMAX theater was very cool. The sound and video quality was great and there was not a bad seat in the sold out show. Aside from a few cringe-worthy scenes that I felt were gratuitous (think softcore porn meets Gladiator), I was impressed and would like to see the movie again.