300.
What can be said about 300 that has not already been said, blogged about, broadcast in mainstream media i.e. t.v. news and radio as well as the independent medium of podcasting. Let's not forget myspace, facebook, youtube and wikipedia.
On my facebook profile right now, I posted a comment after seeing 3oo on its opening friday night:
"Take Sin City, Gladiator and The Lord of the Rings. Combine them but strip out the boring speeches, set the background against a beautiful art painting, bulk up the actors and hype up the fight choreography to the maximum. When you do that, you get 300."
Then my status became, "Folarin is trying to recover from the 300 effect." So rarely does a movie stir me up like 300 did. The first and most heightened impression that I got from a movie was The Matrix (1999).
I am not referring to the story because Frank Miller, the original writer of 300 - the graphic novel that 300 - the movie was based on, is not completely historically accurate. Of course that is not what both Miller and Zack Snyder (director) was going for. Oh btw, don't call 300 a comic book in front of Frank Miller. I am focusing on the film making process.
When the Matrix came out, it blew everyone away, because what it did had never been done before. 1st, the story, 2nd the fight choreography, 3rd the visual effects, special effects and virtual backgrounds, let's not forget the cinematography. The Matrix set a new standard in film making all over the world.
300 has done something quite close. That is what everybody is talking about! That is why 300 has now set the record for best opening is March, ever! I'm talking over 70 million in just one weekend not to talk about the whole month yet. On a budget of a mild 65 million and a smart use of the internet and the youtube craze for marketing, I can assure you that the producers and the cast are already popping champagne bottles just waiting for the revenue to pour in.
There have been some criticisms however about this movie, not all that I agree with
1. "The blue screen CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) made the movie look kind of flat."
Well, the movie is based on a graphic novel drawn on a flat plane paper. Maybe that was what Zack Snyder was going for.
2. "The use of the slow-mo, speed up effect started by The Matrix was used to much."
I would have to agree with that on some level. It got a little too much. On the upside, it helped us appreciate the skill and level of work that these actors put into the choreography and made us/me see every move in detail. God knows that if I had 300 on dvd without the slow mo, I would hit the slow-mo button during the action sequences.
3. "The characters had no depth, i.e. there wasn't enough time for the audience to buy into the characters and get us emotionally involved."
Again, I would say read the original piece(the novel). Did Miller do this? Lets not blame the filmmakers. However I felt the love that Leonidas had for his queen at the end when Gerard Butler delivered greatly these words, "My queen, my wife, my love.", just before a swarm of arrows rained downed upon him.
Overall, the movie was a great movie and a tremendous success.
Listen to my podcast review on 300. "The Folarin O. show" on iTunes.
