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FRANK MILLER'S 300 screened tonight! And...
SPOILER ALERT !!
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here. There was a test screening this night of Zack Snyder's film version of Frank Miller's graphic novel 300. I told ya' the Comic-Con footage was out of this world awesome and now you'll have two guys... one a big Frank Miller fan and the other someone just familiar with SIN CITY... tell you how awesome the movie is. And they do say it's awesome. Mark my words, squirts. 300 will be the beginning of next year's geekasms, hopefully running all they way through SPIDER-MAN 3. Enjoy the reviews. If you want to keep pure you should be warned of spoilers below!!!
Guys...HOLY SHIT...I saw this movie tonight and I am
still in heaven...hope you can use this...call me
Actionman! Thanks for all the great stuff!
So where to begin. Tonight, I had my face blown off
in a movie theater. When the lights came up, I had to
look on the floor to find my face and then put it back
on. What movie could have done this you ask....Zach
Snyder’s masterpiece 300, based on Frank Miller’s
graphic novel. Let me set the scene quickly...never
before have I seen security at a test screening this
high. 4 separate groups of screener peeps came over
and asked a variety of questions, really trying to
weed out the industry types. It was made clear while
we were waiting: NO cameras in the theater.
nothing...no exceptions. metal detectors. bag
searches. After getting a perfect seat, the emcee got
up and made the point that we were the first audience
ever to see the movie, anywhere. Big round of
applause. The usual followed...this movie is not
complete, the score is temp (notied a lot of Thin Red
Line and Black Hawk Down cues), some of the effects
aren’t done, etc. Then, the movie....
Simply put, it fucking pains me that I have to wait
until March of 2007 to experience this complete
triumph of art and commerce again. Because that’s
what this is. This is a tight, spare, slightly less
than 2 hour piece of ART. EVERY SINGLE FRAME OF FILM
IN 300 IS GLORIOUS TO LOOK AT. IT’s like a painting
you would see at a museum, except, it has come to
life. It’s smolderingly gorgeous. Suffocatingly sexy
to behold at times. It is, after first viewing, one
of the coolest movies I have ever laid my eyes on.
All I can think about is how much BETTER the movie
will be when they are done with all of the effects and
laying in the score...I mean this is a 5 time in a
theater kind of flick. But what’s it about....?
Most reading this will know but 300 is the story of
the Spartan army, lead by their king Leonidas (Gerard
Butler), who goes to war against Xerxes, the ruthless
Persian king. What raises the stakes is the head
count...300 Spartans VS. 1,000,000 Persians. So,
basically, it’s a test of balls...of manliness...of
not backing down and kicking everyone’s ass who is in
your way. And then pushing their bodies over a cliff.
There are some subplots as well, but the thrust of the
movie follows Leonidas and his brave soldiers as they
absolutely kick ungodly amounts of ass. The action in
this movie is simply astonishing...YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN
THIS TYPE OF ACTION BEFORE IN A MOVIE.
Let me also say this...I am new to the Frank Miller
universe. I was familiar with the Sin City books and
the 300 book, but wasn’t an invested fan, like so many
people are. I loved every second of Sin City the
movie, so when I heard that Snyder--who I thought did
a fucking awesome job with his first movie, the Dawn
of the Dead remake--was making an all CGI-background
ancient battle epic, I immediately became interested.
But when I saw that much-buzzed about 5 minute clip
they showed at Comicon, I was sold. And tonight, I
got a movie that blew away my very high expectations.
The action scenes in 300 are going to amaze people.
Intensely violent, EXTREMELY stylized, epic yet
intimate, they are some of the most stunning sequences
of action I have seen in years. The Scott
Brothersyou’re
gonna love this. Tarantino and Rodriguez--bring a
change of shorts to the theater. McG--take some
fucking notes. I’m really trying to hold back on the
spoilers, as I want people to have as much fun with
this flick as I did. But needless to say, there is a
liberal amount of decapitations (some in such detail
that I doubt the MPAA will allow it all), a serious
amount of limbs are hacked off---this is gritty,
violent, dark shit. And done all so beautifully, that
300 transcends this genre and becomes something
else...a revolutionary piece of filmmaking. My only
complaint at the moment (and I still need to sleep on
the film, I literally got out an hour ago) is that I
wished it was longer. Not that anything felt slighted
or incomplete, but that I was just in movie heaven and
I didn’t want it to end. The awesome opening did feel
a bit rushed maybe, but that's a minor quibble. The
stuff with a young Leonidas taking on a vicious wolf
at night in the snow is sensational.
The acting is awesome across the board, with Gerard
Butler giving his breakthrough performance. This guy
has been working hard the past few years (and did a
damn fine take on playing the Phantom in Phantom of
the Opera) and this is his Russell Crowe-Gladiator
grab-it-by-the-balls-and-run-with-it performance.
David Wenham plays his friend and fellow soldier
Dilios, and narrates the story in poetic and ironic
voiceover that adds another exciting dimension to the
story. Xerxes is played with great relish by Rodrigo
Santoro, who must’ve spent hours in the
makeup/wardrobe chair. Lena Headey is Leonidas’s hot,
happy to take her top off wife, who is smarter than
she appears. Oh yes, there is AMPLE nudity and sex in
300, a quality missing in too many movies thesedays.
All of the smaller parts are expertly pulled off by a
cast of mostly unknowns and extras.
But the real star of the show is Zach Snyder, who just
nails the look of Miller’s book and creates something
all his own. There is one sequence in particular I
will talk aboutso people who don’t
want to know anything about the movie, look away.
Snyder does what must be a 2 or 3 minute shot where
Leonidas kills about a dozen guys, all in one camera
move, panning across the screen, similar to the
hallway rampage in Oldboy. However, to heighten the
scene, Snyder accelerates the action, the slows it
down, and then makes it fast again. It’s FUCKING
INCREDIBLE to watch. Limbs are flying, blood is
sprayed everywhere, spears and swords and clanking
against each other...but all done in such a way that
it feels NEW and EXCITING, and just cool as all hell.
And on the way out, to cap it off, I saw Snyder
talking with Mark Canton (one of the producers), and
couldn’t help myself. I approached him and he was so
cool. I told him how much I loved the movie, how it
blew me away, and he was all smiles...I shook his hand
and told him how it was gonna hurt to have to wait
till March to see it again. He laughed and said: “Go
home and get on the internet and let ‘em all know!”
So here I am, letting you all know.
So that’s it, it’s late, I gotta eat something, and
then get up for work in 6 hours. Tonight I saw
something special in a movie theater. Something I will
never forget. Movies like 300 are WHY I GO TO A
THEATER. Ruthless, hard-core, overflowing with
machismo, and simply a blast from start to finish, 300
will own all of your asses next year. Mark my words.
Actionman out.
Here's the second review, from the big Frank Miller fan. If we get any more reviews we'll post 'em after this one! Enjoy!!!
Hey Harry,
I just got back from the first test screening of Frank
Miller's 300.
I was surprised today when a friend told me he had two
passes so of course, I was immediately in. We arrived
early where the suits asked us what we study in school
or our profession...also told not to write to any
movie sites.
Anyways, the WB logo popped up after a short intro
where we were told that effects and music were still
unfinished. Being a huge fan of Frank Miller's work I
was cautiously optimistic. I have one word to say.
WOW.
WB logo comes up and we're introduced to the 300 logo
with a bolt of lightning. We start out with the story
of Leonidas as a boy. We come to present day where
emissaries from the Persian king ride into Sparta to
tell Leonidas and Sparta to surrender. This is the
first time we see how beautiful the cinematography is.
The shot of the horses coming over the hill to look
down on Sparta is absolutely beautiful.
I don't want to spoil too much for those who haven't
read the book or heard anything about it, but the
biggest chunk of the film is absolute non stop action.
Again, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous and
they really got the feel of graphic novel down. The
dark clouds hovering in the sky with the sun poking
through and glimmering off the ocean. Again,
absolutely gorgeous.
As for the action...phenomenal. My biggest complaint
with action scenes is how they're all edited like a
music video these days to the point that you get
disoriented and have no idea what's going on. The
first minute or so of the first action sequence is
like this and I started to get down a bit...and then
bam! We see a long sequence of Leonidas taking out
about 15 enemies in slow motion with the camera pulled
back so you can actually see what's going on. One shot
of him lopping off a Persian's leg got a loud gasp
from the crowd for how great it actually looked. Also
there were some cool shots of blood spurting towards
the camera in slow motion. It worked really well.
This is where you could tell that some of the effects
weren't finished. Not all of it looked perfect but it
was good enough that it wasn't irritating. There will
definitely be more work there. Sometimes you'd see a
"glow" around an actor which still needs to be fixed.
The bad: I really don't have many complaints. The
music was my only complaint but it was said before the
show that this wasn't going to be the final music.
Some parts had almost heavy metal-like music that I
highly doubt will end up in the final picture. A
couple of the action sequences, especially with the
elephants look like they have work to be done as well.
Also, some shots were just still frames for a few
seconds. Not much to complain about since all of this
will be fixed and finished by the time the film hits
theaters.
The only part of the story I seemed not to like was
with Leonidas' wife and the traitor senator. The queen
approaches the council to send the whole army to help
the 300 soldiers...but as a viewer, you don't feel for
her because the 300 are whipping serious ass without
the rest of the army so you have absolutely no reason
to root for the rest of the army to show up. You end
up just really not caring about the rest of the
army...
Xeres was great...big and intimidating. He sees
himself as a god and Leonidas at one point promises
him he'll bleed. Well, one of the scenes that had the
biggest impact on me was when Leonidas cuts the side
of his mouth with a spear...the look of horror on
Xeres' face is just fantastic...and you actually feel
for him.
I know I'm rambling here because I just walked in the
door and felt I had to write. I can't emphasize enough
how great this film looked and the action scenes were
the best I've seen in a real long time. Don't want to
spoil too much but the scene with Leonidas fighting
the giant ogre is extremely intense. This film really
surpassed my expectations which were high for a book
as great as 300. Go see it opening weekend.
If you use this, call me Dharma Bum
P.S. For all the pervs who are gonna ask "but are
there boobs?"...the answer is "yes".
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+ Expand All
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It was the Battle of Thermopylae!
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the beginning of next year's geekasms, hopefully running all they way through SPIDER-MAN 2." They're making a second Spider-Man?! Anyone have any idea of the plot? Will Raimi be back to direct? I hope they don't use Venom. *friendswithbenefits.com*
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Doesn't get any better than that!
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Or at least it can't be much worse than this year. Anyway, a movie based off the Battle of Thermopylae is pretty much a sure bet to a be a fantastic movie. Very few historical battles can be said to have had the impact that Thermopylae did on the history of the world. Of course, it's based off Frank Miller's take on it, so one can't even begin to think it'd be historically accurate, but it'll definitely be action filled and bloody as fuck. Definitely one to look forward to.
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To be honest, I truly believe Gates of Fire would have made the better movie. Though, I'm just happy to see a new movie about Thermopylae made!
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woohooooo!!! This is so going to kick all sorts of ass!!!
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Ugh... I had so much hope for that comic, but it's so obvious that Miller's just jerking off on my wallet now. That fucking 6 page Batcave spread proved that one to me. Damn, that was such a waste...
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Thought I had seen them all. Seriously why the need to be planting shit. AICN - come on - this shit is getting annoying.
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So looking forward to this.
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Excellent book. Like Saving Private Ryan meets Gladiator, but better. I too would have loved to see THAT as a movie--but I will settle for 300. I would have loved to see the characters of Gates of Fire on screen--men that were fierce, larger than life--that die valiantly only to become immortal legends. If you haven't read it, go to a bookstore right away or get it on amazon.
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For those interested in learning more about the actual Battle of Thermopylae, check out this book which provides a pretty good accounting of what might have actually happened: http://tinyurl.com/jyboc
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... but those reviews give chlorophyl a bad name.
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Didja know the Spartan men were all queer?
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Go to mpaa.org and search for 300.
I guess they wanted a rating on content before putting all the special effects in. -
Sounds almost as good as Blade2 from Harrys review of it... But still, got my hopes up high for this one..
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Sounds brilliant. Yeah, I think Gates of Fire will have been a better bet for Ancient History geeks like me, because 300 is fantasy - but I don't care. At least I get to see my Spartans wedged in the Hot Gates behind their lambda blazons, openin' that can of whup ass one last time. Now make Seven Against Thebes!!
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The only thing this movie is missing is Lance Bass coming out of the closet...and Brian Singer directing all the bare chested, bare legged men in this movie to assist him!!! Finally Spartacus has been surpassed as the greatest homage to homosexuality in film history...well, that and Brokeback Mountain!!!
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I believe every word of it! (... nobody better rain on my parade)
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I Plugged this article on http://www.theplugg.com
go vote! -
Not a fan of comic books or someone that writes like a semi-literate teenager.
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I know if a Watchmen film gets done under him, visually it will be like the graphic novel. Just narrative wise not so sure. Either way I am glad this guy is willing to maybe release watchmen as two movies and to also even spend years developing it. 300 looks like it will kick serious amount of brutallity. Finally. Haven't seen a Dick flick in such a long time. Even if it involved sweaty bare chested men, but these men decapitate. so evens out.
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As a cinema fan, I was amazed by this film. One of the biggest reasons I go to the movies is see something that I have never seen before, somehting that shatters the old boundaries of the film medium and establishes new ones that others will aspire to achieve...and believe me, this is as big if not bigger than The Matrix in terms of never-before-seen visuals. It was simply astonishing.
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Anything else get "blown off" at this hardcore butchgay man-meat festival? Seriously, this movie is going to be a HUGE THROBBING HIT in the gay community. All marketing THRUSTS should be targeted specially to PENETRATE the Gay community. BIG BULGING posters should be SPREAD throughout Chelsea. (Of course, I'm sure there are plenty of "straight" guys who find themselves oddly fascinated by the Spartans as well; as they charge, naked and glistening with sweat in the hot Greek sun, thrusting and Thrusting and THRUSTING their hot hard swords into the flanks of their enemies screaming "Helloooo, Sailor!"
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....you're the type of person who gives homosexuals a bad name.
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Hmm? Hmm? Cyclops with a trident? I think not! ;)
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In Sparta, baby, its all good!
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But the 2nd one seems spot on. Either way, I am looking forward to this big time.
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Frank Miller is not as good as you think. He can't draw for shit.
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Stuck close to source material: CHECK! Involved original creator: CHECK! Captured essence of book: CHECK! This movie should be amazing! BTW the new Batman & Robin Frank Miller is by far the worst of Miller's career. Seeing batman through Robin's eyes was the only good part. The Black Canary bar fight scene made me stop reading. Besides his writing works so much better with his art. Jim Lee is a god in my eyes but the comic is like oil and water. They just don't mix.
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c'mon Harry and co. weed out these obvious fakes... Get it. WEED Out, eh - Huh? Hey, shut the fuck up! Fuck you, I don't answer to you!
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...and I can't wait to see the finished film. Mark my words - this film will have an impact on the whole action genre. It was a joy to work on and it will kick major ass.
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I like boobs.
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And as we know most of these glowing early reviews usually turn out flat wrong. remember that douche bag that called Sueprman Returns IMAX one of the greatest visual sensory experience or whatever.
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i saw the trailer at comic con and I am glad to hear the rest of the film matches up to the amazing trailer...I didn't doubt it would, but it's nice to hear anyway. March can't get here soon enough!
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So far all of the feedback on this film, especially the comic con footage that many posters and site staff have seen, has been extremely positive and complimentary. It is offical that the film has been screened to certain audiences, who also reacted very positively. Now, regardless of this, SOME OF YOU STUPID FUCKS ARE STILL SHOUTING "PLANT", SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY.
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Not that bulging muscles, bare chests, and sturdy thighs are the only reason I want to see this film but it sure won't hurt by bringing in the female fans of the actors in their small costumes. Not me, though. I'll be there for the cinematic art, the fascinating story, the action sequences. Not just the handsome men and their ripped abs-- really! No, really!
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Hard Boiled is the movie I've been waiting forever to see, why don't Wachowskis, Miller & Darrow develop that one already... dammit!
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sweet
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violent. But volumes of decapitations for the point of what, exactly? The way they are described seems pointless and also sort of sick.
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in all its glory... Of course there's gonna be gay references made by idiotic minds leading up to and after this movie comes out.
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Many of you are f'cked up, so it seems likely.
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does everything need a point. why not just because? there are plenty of movies that don't involve many decapitations, watch them. it's like some people who said ong bak had too much fighting, like it should stick to a formula. if everything followed a point, there would be no risks and movies would all be the same.
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Guys here are so negative that anything with an ounce of positivity automatically is a plant review. maybe the guy just really really liked it.
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is gonna kick major amounts of ass. I'm not sure about the entire story being told in under 2 fucking hours though. This is cause for concern because there is a lot of ground to cover here and under 2 hours is gonna feel rushed.
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If the film is actually as artistic as the graphic novel and true to Miller's work, then the violence in "300" should be visually stunning rather than gory.
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I haven't been reading it. What was that about a Black Canary bar fight (what issue?) and what didn't you like about it?
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