300.

This year I'm not going to the cinema that much. But it does feel that every movie I see counts.

Take 300.
THIS is the movie that I wish Sin City had been.
Don't get me wrong: I loved Sin City, but I thought it didn't feel like a movie. It did feel a straight transcription of a comic book. Which, granted, was the point but then you could just read the thing! OK, you get the actors' performances which were great.
All in all it was great, it was an unflinching adaptation of the books it was based on. I just wished it was more a movie, ie that it used more the tricks of the medium.

But for this, I got my "proper" movie take on a Frank Miller book.
Again, the cinematography is entirely stylised, going for an overall gorgeous sepia and grainy look. But this time, the camera does move and we get those massive travelings that make the whole thing truly epic!
Also to keep a "comic book" feel, that is a succession of static pictures, the "slomo", instigated by The Matrix, is used to a large extent and to great effect.

Overall it gives the movie an impact and an epic feel that is rarely seen.

The movie obviously doesn't aim at any historical accuracy, as Miller originally thought of it as a bed time story, the kind that always get bigger and bigger each time it's told. So you get a fair share of fantasy, with monsters, deformed creatures, that never feel out of place.

You have to see those spartans fight and protect each other at the same time... The choreographies are excellent.
There's serious @ss kicking going on there.

That's the style done. You can't fail the movie on that, it's pretty much flawless.

Now for the "substance".
Storywise, although there's not much here, I was really pleasantly surprised that although this is only 1 battle, it's varied enough so you don't get bored. Waves of enemies are diverse, death also. :)
And you get some breaks with events hapening back in Sparta, where you get a piece of political manoeuvres and treasons on top of your barbaric massacres.

I think this is also something you have to watch regardless of the current political context. There's no politics involved here.
If you do get that in, you actually could see the Spartans as Americans, fighting and dying for their freedom and way of life. On the other hand you could see that Americans are th Persians, who are invading and forcing THEIR ways onto smaller less powerful countries...
You can see that polemics are out of place here...

What's left is the story of people raised in violence, as warriors, with blood and honor for only value. They get attacked. They react. Their background just explains the nature of their reaction. You see the story from their end.

I have to say I got a bit annoyed to hear the word "free" used so much and that sounded quite "american" to me. After all ancient Greeks are the inventors of the "republic", but they were slavers nonetheless... But that also means that at that time "freedom" had a different meaning. So ultimately it's a thought that hasn't its place here.

It's an epic story of people sacrificing themselves for an ideal (it kind of reminded me of Zhand Yimou's Hero at times).
That's all.
All you have to do is to fasten your seatbelt and enjoy the ride!
And what a ride.