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redfiona99Well that could have been better.
Which annoys me because dude, this was based on a story I love, and had so many elements that I enjoyed, but it was still meh! overall.
However, before I go into details I need to convey this from Dariush in the lab - the Persians weren't evil. Really they weren't. No more than anyone else. Nor where they that odd.
Two things must be added: He's Iranian. And he's right. I find it very difficult to stomach the Spartans as standing up for freedom and against tyranny.
If you're not going to use phallanxes, then don't mention them. I think it was a cool way of explaining why Leonides turned Ephialtes down but for goodness sake if you have him declaiming the importance of the phallanx, don't have him break it in the next scene.
Gerard Butler still isn't a leading man. He didn't screw up terribly horribly but he had no chemistry with the Queen, and was generally out-acted by all around him. Not that that's his fault since he was surrounded by the shiny goodness on the acting front.
On a similar tip - could a casting director somewhere cast Dominic West as something other than a bad guy. Though it must be said he's aging well.
Dilios. There was one point, where he'd been sent home, I felt so sorry for him, because to be still alive when everyone else had died glorious heroic deaths would be terrible indeed. But then at the end when he's got 30,000 men behind him. Gah! So very happy he could go and get himself killed nobly. Which I think shows 2 important points - how very much David Wenham brought much shiny goodness to the roll and how they managed to convey the Spartan mind-set. Because glorious death should not be the happy option.
And the whole thing about them at the end being only outnumbered 3-1 and that pratically being unfair to the opposition. Hee!
Also hee! were half the lines, most notably Stelios's, and the war rhino. Well that was different and new. Although it must be said that I'm pretty certain the Persian empire didn't stretch as far as China and Japan. So who knows what the ninja/samurai/whathaveyou were doing there.
Stelios - Again with the lunatic death wish love. And the Captain's son. And the Captain, even if I knew one of them was dead meat. But yes, much love for Vincent Regan, again.
That they used the slab quote at the end. Gah! An automatic gah!
Things I loved that aren't spoilery
The style and design obviously. Because so very pretty. Even if I didn't like the yellow lighting in Sparta.
They made the Spartans so very Spartan, there was, with the exception of the whole thing about the Spartans all being free men and not having slaves (to which I say, ha!), no nicening of their edges. They were war-mad loons, but admirable war-mad loons. Which I think says more bad things about me than anyone else.
The film totally rocked the audience. Yes, it was a bit more rowdy than normal, it being Orange Wednesday (2 for 1 tickets for Orange mobile phone users) and it was the big new film so the screen was more packed than usual, but I can't remember the last time I went to see a film where the audience was cheering and whooping. I think there may have been a little blood frenzy going on.
Good times.
Which annoys me because dude, this was based on a story I love, and had so many elements that I enjoyed, but it was still meh! overall.
However, before I go into details I need to convey this from Dariush in the lab - the Persians weren't evil. Really they weren't. No more than anyone else. Nor where they that odd.
Two things must be added: He's Iranian. And he's right. I find it very difficult to stomach the Spartans as standing up for freedom and against tyranny.
If you're not going to use phallanxes, then don't mention them. I think it was a cool way of explaining why Leonides turned Ephialtes down but for goodness sake if you have him declaiming the importance of the phallanx, don't have him break it in the next scene.
Gerard Butler still isn't a leading man. He didn't screw up terribly horribly but he had no chemistry with the Queen, and was generally out-acted by all around him. Not that that's his fault since he was surrounded by the shiny goodness on the acting front.
On a similar tip - could a casting director somewhere cast Dominic West as something other than a bad guy. Though it must be said he's aging well.
Dilios. There was one point, where he'd been sent home, I felt so sorry for him, because to be still alive when everyone else had died glorious heroic deaths would be terrible indeed. But then at the end when he's got 30,000 men behind him. Gah! So very happy he could go and get himself killed nobly. Which I think shows 2 important points - how very much David Wenham brought much shiny goodness to the roll and how they managed to convey the Spartan mind-set. Because glorious death should not be the happy option.
And the whole thing about them at the end being only outnumbered 3-1 and that pratically being unfair to the opposition. Hee!
Also hee! were half the lines, most notably Stelios's, and the war rhino. Well that was different and new. Although it must be said that I'm pretty certain the Persian empire didn't stretch as far as China and Japan. So who knows what the ninja/samurai/whathaveyou were doing there.
Stelios - Again with the lunatic death wish love. And the Captain's son. And the Captain, even if I knew one of them was dead meat. But yes, much love for Vincent Regan, again.
That they used the slab quote at the end. Gah! An automatic gah!
Things I loved that aren't spoilery
The style and design obviously. Because so very pretty. Even if I didn't like the yellow lighting in Sparta.
They made the Spartans so very Spartan, there was, with the exception of the whole thing about the Spartans all being free men and not having slaves (to which I say, ha!), no nicening of their edges. They were war-mad loons, but admirable war-mad loons. Which I think says more bad things about me than anyone else.
The film totally rocked the audience. Yes, it was a bit more rowdy than normal, it being Orange Wednesday (2 for 1 tickets for Orange mobile phone users) and it was the big new film so the screen was more packed than usual, but I can't remember the last time I went to see a film where the audience was cheering and whooping. I think there may have been a little blood frenzy going on.
Good times.
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Date: 2007-03-29 03:43 am (UTC)Mmmmmmm very very shiny indeed. When I read that he was cast for this, I had been DYING for some pictures, and there was NOTHING for him. I didn't get to see what he looked like until I saw the movie itself. And I was quite quite happy.
I find it very difficult to stomach the Spartans as standing up for freedom and against tyranny.
I just LOL-ed through all the ridiculousness of Spartans fighting for "freedom" and "democracy". The movie was all about the pretty.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-29 01:48 pm (UTC)I think I got lucky then because Fileg on my flist is a huge Wenham fan so the first picture I saw had him in. Admittedly only in standing in rank and in profile but hee! yes, I was most happy when I finally got to see all of him.
Although a ginger Greek is always an interesting concept.
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Date: 2007-03-29 04:43 pm (UTC)Hahaha, no more interesting than a Scottish Leonidas. Hehehe. See, that's what did it for me. The opening narration was David Wenham in all his Australian glory, which is why I was able to completely shut off my reason and logic and just enjoyed the movie for the cock waving that it is.
no subject
Date: 2007-03-29 10:46 pm (UTC)