With “300” director Zack Snyder (“Man Of Steel”) has staged a modern classic. The adaptation of Frank Miller’s comic book of the same name remains visually stunning. But otherwise the Schlachtplatte with Gerard Butler (“Plane”) in the lead role is convincing. In the official FILMSTARTS review, “300” received a strong 4 out of 5 possible stars. Here you will too “damn two hours of entertainment” promised.
Haven’t seen “300” yet, but don’t want to blindly put it on your home shelf or pay a surcharge in the stream? No problem! The gritty and brutal fantasy adventure is now available as an Amazon Prime Video subscription.
That’s what “300” is all about
A beautiful childhood certainly looks different: Spartan Leonidas (Gerard Butler) has endured severe combat and stress tests since he was seven years old. He now rules as king of Sparta, has a wife (Lena Headey) and is a father. After sending some Persian emissaries to their doom with offers of Sparta’s submission to the boundlessly narcissistic King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), Leonidas heads north with 300 of his personal bodyguards.
Since the oracle Leonidas, bribed by Theron (Dominic West), refuses the official campaign, the warrior must fight the Persian king in his own way. The confrontation takes place in a narrow canyon of Thermopylae. A handful of Spartans take on a numerically superior Persian army in a legendary slaughter.
This is 300: Rise Of An Empire
Unlike “300”, we can only highly recommend the sequel “300: Rise Of An Empire”. Zack Snyder has been replaced in the director’s chair by Naom Murro, while the lead role has changed from Gerard Butler to the much less charismatic Sullivan Stapleton (“Blindspot”). The official FILMSTARTS review gave it 3 out of 5 possible stars. If “300: Rise Of An Empire” is convincing, then “like blood-soaked entertainment for an audience that calls for rustic battle records on silver screen.” Now on Prime Video.
And that’s the point: The sequel follows the events of the predecessor. After Xerxes’ victory over Leonidas, the Greek capital of Athens becomes the ruthless ruler’s first target of conquest. The warring factions meet in a bloody sea battle and General Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) comes face to face with a very special opponent: Artemisia (Eva Green). She is under the command of Xerxes and her desire for revenge against the Athenians knows no bounds. For a chance at victory, Themistocles must join forces with the warriors of Sparta…