Battles. It's all about the battles. And god-damn this picture looks good. If you're going to see this for any other reason and expect to find it there, then woe should befall you, clown.

I don't want to waste time talking about what this film doesn't achieve (but I will, have now), like an examination of the human condition and what war means to us as a metaphor for present-day events. If you're after that, or some kind of underlying 'award-worthy' narrative then you're probably the problem.

Impressive. The war-crafted machines of the Spartan army. When the first, endless waves of invading Persians fall upon the lines of our 300 warriors, there's a real sense of tension, something amazing is about to happen. It does, our 300 kick arse, and how! The invaders are repelled, slaughtered like dogs, without barely a casualty from our 300. It becomes more of ride.

So the they up the ante, bring in the beasts, the disciplined warriors and create more of a challenge. All through these battles, it's the imagery that stays with you, it's the reason you're here. Real time, sword raised, fast, the sword swings into action, slow-mo, it sleuths into a chest, fast, it slices into the next invader. As limbs lopped off, as swords shear through flesh, call me sick, but it's cinematic beauty.

It's not the type of film you want your action watered down in. Stuff like this happens. In our real world, people have been slain mercilessly in vast numbers, throughout history, it still happens today. Hiding that from us in our movies doesn't make that legacy of mankind, that reality disappear. Gladiator was all about the suggestion of violence, barely anything worth cringing about made it into film. The audience is not insulted with that kind of trickery in 300, it's all up there for a gore-fiend's viewing pleasure, and it is oh so beautiful at the same time.

out of ten

Reviewed by Paul Boschen