Geek Talk

I saw 300 over the weekend. If you haven’t seen the 300 movie yet or read the comic you may want to stop reading now. I actually got the chance to read the comic before I went to go see it. I wasn’t really impressed with the comic. The art was confusing and flat. And in the comic the King was kind of a dick. And by kind of I mean super. But in the movie they made him into a nicer killing machine… if that makes sense.

I liked the movie. Didn’t love it, but liked it. It’s an entertaining action movie. Not really a date movie. As one 15 year old who happened to be sitting behind me found out. It was a sex scene, so both the King and his Queen were naked. And I hear him whisper “This is awkward.” I assume he was on a date, or just out with his mom or something. Anyway it was funny.

Getting back to the movie, I think we’re starting to see movies that blend CGI and “real” people. I could see it a few times, but it wasn’t super obvious (except when Xerxes started to rub the shoulders of our starring King, not to mention a bit strange.) Sure if you take a magnifying glass to the movie I’m sure they’ll become glaring. The wolf was CGI in the begining, but it was believable to me. Not like some kid killing a cartoon. One that does stickout in my mind is when the 300 were marching from Sparta and the king is looking back at his wife, you could almost tell they were in a green room.

Having read the comic the night before I was watching for some things. Like I said the King seemed like a super dick. For example this Hunchback Spartan (who lived outside the city walls because his mom loved him too much to kill him at birth (Spartan a would kill deformed or “imperfect” babiesnd they explain that in the beginning of the movie.)) he was following the group of 300. When they get to the “hot gates” he requests and audience with the king, it’s granted much to the fear of the Captain. The hunchback wants to fight, he has a been training for a long time. But the king points out that he can’t raise his shield and thats a fundamental flaw to the Spartan fighting style. Now in the comic the King kicks him over the edge and he thinks he’s dead. In the movie he suggests that if he wants to help he could collect the dead and bury them and then just walks away. I think Hollywood wanted to make the Hero a bit more human. In the comic I thought Karma played a role in the hunchback surviving and telling Xerxes about a hidden path that could win him the war. But in the movie you feel bad for the King. Just one act casts him in an entirely different light. Unless of course I misread the comic because like I said the art was very confusing for me anyway.

Another “hey that wasn’t in the comic” moment was that during the battle they’d go back to the city and see the events that are unfolding as their king basically declared war without the consent of the governing body. Something that I think added to the overall story.

I liked the movie. It has some great lines. I wouldn’t put it in the same league as Gladiator like some have, but it was good. I’ll give at B+ since I seem to be grading movies now.