By Will Ashton
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Mar. 11, 2014
300: Rise of an Empire MPAA Rated R, Our Rating 3/5 If there is one thing I am not a fan of in this world, it’s imitation.It may be the sincerest form of flattery, but I feel, generally, it is lazy, unimaginative and extremely restrictive. I disliked the fourth season of Community before it was cool to do so; I thought Kick-Ass 2 was a juvenile attempt to be as funny and edgy as the original; and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 was a hazily made reminder of why the Phil Lord-Chris Miller touch is so important.And so I had my reservations about 300: Rise of an Empire. Due to commitments with Man of Steel, director Zack Snyder did not return to the helm of this film, although he did earn a screenwriting credit this time around.Taking over is Noam Murro, whose only other film is Smart People, the movie that was a rip-off of every movie that has wheedled itself into the Sundance Film Festival for the past decade. I feared the worst.Apparently, I shouldn’t have because, much like this week’s other surprise, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, the movie captures the insanity and visual style of the original while blending in its own sensibilities. Is it as good as the original? No, but it is still a worthy successor.Based on Frank Miller’s comic book Xerxes, this movie is not exactly a sequel or prequel, but rather a sort-of inbetween-quel. It primarily follows Greek General Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) as he leads his army against the Persian invasion, commanded by Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and Artemisia (Eva Green).Let’s be honest: No matter how many fans the original had, it was no masterpiece. It was silly, stupid and about as historically accurate as Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor. But it was a shiny, well-oiled piece of fun entertainment, and kept its aspirations thankfully low.Much is the same with 300: Rise of an Empire. It’s still as stupid, silly and historically liberal as could be, but it knows it and tries to stay loyal to the original’s spirit while also infusing its own spunk. If anything, the film appears to be at its weakest when it tries to kiss the heels of the original 300.Case and point: the slow-mo, fast-mo thing that even Snyder has moved away from. It was fun enough back in 2007, but it is old now, and everyone and their grandma has tried to either copy or parody it. I am a little more lenient here because it is the sequel to the film that made this popular in the first place, but still. Do we need it in every other scene?With that said, this film succeeds quite well in action. The battle scenes are clearly shot, well-choreographed and CG-bloody as can be. This time, I make that final point in the best way possible. Though it grows repetitive as the film progresses, it is clear Murro and the screenwriters know what the audience wants and serve it in hearty portions.Where the film doesn’t succeed as well is when it tries for an emotional tug. More so than the first, this film tries to make you care about the characters. Though a noble effort, it ultimately is unsuccessful, weighing down the film with a great deal of time is spent trying to make you feel for these guys when, really, you don’t.What struck me so much about this continuation, in a good way, was the presence of strong female characters. One of the few returning characters is Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), who not only gets more screen time, but plays a more prominent and central character than in the original. The female character that surprised me the most was Artemisia, who is not only the most developed character, but also the most interesting and entertaining.Green always brings flair to her performances, even just as the love interest in Casino Royale. But here, she not only gets room to shine, but uses her sexiness and mystique to her full advantage. It is key in why this sequel succeeds, and Murro and his crew seem to know it.I still don’t think this movie passes the Bechdel test, though.This installment succeeds in that, thankfully, it has a sense of humor about itself. It is more self-aware about its silliness and makes comedic use of it. Though nowhere near as quotable as the original, a line uttered by Artemisia in the third act is as worthy as any line repeated by 13-year-old boys after the first one.Additionally, the sex scene is one for the record books.Like the original, the film departs pretty open-ended — in fact, even more so than the original. It seems like they are hoping for a third 300 to make its way into theaters. Though I can’t guarantee fans will line up to see this one like they did the first time, I can say that it is worth the investment. It might be a cover band, but it’s admittedly a pretty good one. Will Ashton is a junior studying journalism and a writer for The Post. Talk 300 with him at wa054010@ohiou.edu.
