Movie Review - 300: Rise of an Empire

300: Rise of an Empire

Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Heady, Hans Matheson, Callan Mulvey, David Wenham, Rodrigo Santoro, Jack O'Connell, Andrew Tiernan, Igar Naor, and more.

Directed by: Noam Murro Screenplay by: Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad Based on the Graphic Novel by: Frank Miller Cinematography by: Simon Duggan Music by: Junkie XL

Premise: Starting before the events of the "300", Queen Gorgo tells the story of Themistocles and his inadvertent triggering ten years before of events which drove Xerxes to wonder the dessert and absorb pure evil to become a God King with only one goal, the complete destruction of Athens and all Greece and everything they represent. (Rated PG-13)


Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Sullivan Stapleton did well as the tactician and guilt burdened Athenian Themistocles. Being made to follow the more intense King Leonidas (as portrayed by Gerard Butler in the original "300"), placed a major handicap on Stapleton's performance, as viewers can't help but compare the two, especially as Leonidas is mentioned several times. Lena Heady reprises her role as Queen Gorgo, and she makes it incredibly easy to believe she is a true Spartan Queen. Eva Green was great as the violated and vengeful Artemisia. She exuded both competence as a tactician and general and a poisonous sexuality that was enthralling.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: While the original "300" stuck to battles on land, "300: The Rise of an Empire" is filled with sea battles and close hand to hand combat. The recreations of the ships and execution of attacks looked amazing. Creative blood splatter and appendage removal populate the film throughout. In the beginning, the audience is given an unusual treat, by seeing first hand why helmets and other armor are quite important during battles, despite not seeming so in most movie combat. Helmets and armor/shields can definitely make the difference, even if later on helmets grew out of favor. (Hollywood has always appeared to believe that if you can't see an actor's face, the audience will think less of the film. Anyone who's watched "Dredd" with Karl Urban, can testify that not seeing the actors full face can actually work very well.)

The only thing that could have been done better with regards to the special effects and CGI would have been the introduction of certain details which were eventually revealed in later battles, but would have made the experience so much better if they'd shown them straight from the beginning. For example, the manner by which the Greeks kept their place on deck during ramming maneuvers, or the fact they too were using rowers to power their ships.

3) Story - Thumbs Up: Like the "300", "300: Rise of an Empire" clings to the general history of the period, then spices it up with a little mysticism for added flavor. The timeline pulls back to before the "300" then works up to it and beyond. The most fun was the fact they kept the tactics of several of the sea battles of the time, which were a lot of fun to watch being carried out.

Artemisia was indeed a female naval general in the navy of Xerxes, and she was deemed quite capable and intelligent, but the rest of the information imparted about her in the film is not accurate, although it did make for some great motivation for wanting to destroy Greece. From what I read, it was Xerxes who ordered the naval attacks against the Greeks in open water, while Artemisia had counselled against them, already aware of the Greeks prowess on the water.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: The film has a beach side battle and many sea battles with close hand to hand combat. Several of these get the slow motion treatment, making their savagery beautiful. The shield and helmet use showed clearly why they were such necessary articles in warfare of this type. Outstanding choreography on all the battle sequences.

5) Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: The visuals close up were great, and so were the far off shots showing a burning Athens, the fields of ships poised for battle, and other locations. When the Greeks first go against the Persian's in the sea, just seeing the view of the hundreds of masts, then the giant waves bringing the ships down right on top of them was an awesome visual.

Conclusion: "300: Rise of an Empire" does not reach the heights of the original "300" but offers a lot to enjoy regardless. Seeing the sea battles and cool tactics employed was a definite treat. Getting to watch the Athenians battle with their shields offensively and defensively? Priceless.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - Dredd

Dredd

Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Heady, Rakie Ayola, Warrick Grier, Wood Harris, Domhnall Gleeson, and more.

Directed by: Pete Travis Screenplay by: Alex Garland Based on the Comic Strip developed by: John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra Cinematography by: Anthony Dod Mantle Original Music by: Paul Leonard-Morgan

Premise: The world is a nuclear wasteland, yet humanity survives in the confines of Mega City-One. Due to overcrowding and lack of resources, the legal system has become rigid and intolerant of deviation of the law. Dredd is a 'Judge', one of the lawmen enforcing the rules where all is chaos. When he's asked to take a rookie with him for evaluation as a possible Judge candidate, no one expected the triple murder they are sent to investigate to be anything but routine. Unfortunately, they arrest the one man clan leader Ma-ma can't afford for them to take in and interrogate. So she sets a plan in motion to contain the situation. A plan which  means death to Dredd and the rookie. (Rated R)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Karl Urban was fantastic as Judge Dredd. I loved all the feelings and emotions he was able to get across merely by his voice, his stance, and the set of his mouth. Olivia Thirlby did a great job as the psychic and evaluated rookie Anderson. Lena Heady is definitely making a name for herself as a bad woman. Ruthlessness and self interest poured from her in waves.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: I truly have to commend the special effects team for the Mega-City One setup. When the story begins and they are doing an overview of multi state spanning city everything looked like any other city in the 20th century until you notice the highways are bigger, with more decks and roads, and then the huge towering structure additions. What made this sequence so amazing was that unlike most movies where these mostrous buildings would have seemed out of place, or super futuristic, they actually blended in with their surroundings and looked real.

The effects for the Slow-Mo drug were awesome. The beauty experienced by the users was such a total contrast to the dreary, ugly lives around them, it was easy to see why it was in such high demand. The way several scenes were woven in from the point of view of those experiencing the time slowing effects were fantastic.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: I'd had some minor exposure to the "Judge Dredd" comic series years ago, so I knew the few details that must be had for this film rendition to fit with the comic's established patterns - and they were there! The iconic golden symbol for the Judges, the telltale uniform/armor and helmet, and the biggest requirement, which they met, being the fact that the audience would never see Dredd without his helmet on.

The future in which all the comics take place is very dark and the film definitely shows it. (The R rating needs to be taken very seriously with regards to younger viewers due to the dark nature of the world and the ample servings of graphic violence.)

The plot takes a couple of twists and turns but overall is straightforward and pretty solid. There's also a hint towards the end (when Anderson sees something on the floor) that shows Dredd might have had a little unexpected help to make his theory with Ma-ma actually work.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Some of the routines had CGI help, but there were still plenty of physical action done by the experts. The film has a ton of gun play as well as explosions and fights. The body count is high.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: Like I mentioned in the special effects section, the city scape was excellently done and was also introduced quite nicely with the sweeping views generated for the audience. Even more impressive were the shots of the Peach Trees building with its huge central shaft area and hundreds of floors (the building holds 75,000 people - it's humongous!). This was made even more impressive when the shielding protocols were activated.

Conclusion: "Dredd" was a very satisfying film full of action and gun play. Parents, however, should take the R rating seriously as the violence is graphic and dark subjects are explored. I think fans of the comics will be very pleased with this rendition.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)