In 2006, a young director named Zack Snyder took the works of Frank Miller regarding the fame 300 of Sparta of ancient Greece
I call this a prequel/sequel because the events of the original 300 is intertwined within this story. 300 told the story of King Leonidas (played by Gerard Butler) and his army who took on a God-King named Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his Persian forces only to fall in glorious battle. This is where you thought the story would end. Make enough money at the box office and they’ll find a way.
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| Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes |
With 300: Rise of an Empire, we see the story within the story. This new chapter is based on the Frank Miller graphic novel, Xerxes and tells the story of Greek general Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) who seeks to unite all of Greece
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| Sullivan Stapleton as General Themistokles |
But Rise of an Empire is so much more than a son avenging his father. Mainly because it doesn’t really play up that well in the overall scheme of things. Xerxes is more cartoonish than threatening. No, Rise of an Empire is more like “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” type of revenge film. Which leads to the very best thing about this film, Eva Green. Eva plays the lead villain, Artemisia, commander of the Persian navy. Her Vader-esque presence is so much fun to watch you can’t wait to see what she’ll do next. Eva is a complete bad ass and scary good at doing so. If studios (I’m looking at you DC and Warner Bros.) still “wonder” whether or not a female lead can drive an action film, just watch Eva. She rivals any man in this film and more often than not exceeds them. One can even argue that she is the best character in either film.
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| Eva Green as Artemisia |
Despite being of Greek decent, Artemisia seeks revenge against her people for the raping and pillaging of her families’ land by her fellow Greek countrymen when she was just a child. It was King Darius who saved and raised her. Upon his death, her sights were set on destroying Athens and all of Greece
Speaking of seeking revenge, we can’t forget the return of Lena Headey as King Leonidas’ wife, Queen Gorgo. Unfortunately her screen time is considerably less than that of Green but she does have her moment to shine towards the end.
Most of the film takes place on the high seas with Themistokles leading the Greek army against Artemisia leading the Persian’s. The action is quite good and much like its predecessor, very graphic. I saw the 3D version and unlike so many failed attempts from other films looking to cash in on the 3D effect, Rise works very well and is highly recommended to see it in this way. Now you can get all the head splitting and blood gushing up close and personal.
300: Rise of an Empire **1/2 (out of 4)
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
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