The Bandwagon Nerds are back with their review of Zack Snyder’s 2006 mega movie 300!

Welcome to this week’s edition of the Nerd Review!  Every week the Nerds give you their take on a different cult classic from the Nerdosphere.  This week the guys review the Zack Snyder’s 2006 blockbuster 300.

The Flick:  300

What’s it About:  A fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae based on the graphic novel of the same name written by Frank Miller.  King Leonidas leads a small army of 300 Spartan soldiers to meet the Persian army of King Xerces.  They do so to buy time for the remaining Spartan Council to decide whether or not to send the full Spartan Army to face the invaders.  What ensues is a bloody three day battle filled with swordplay and mysticism.

Metacritic Score: 52 

 The Bandwagon Nerds’ Take:

DPP:  300 attempts to tell the true story of the Battle of Thermopylae, which took place in 480 BC, where King Leonidas lead 300 Spartans against the Persian army to stop Xerxes from ruling the world. This movie is based on the Frank Miller graphic novel, rather than just focusing on the true events. Now, I’ve never read the graphic novel, so I don’t know how accurate it is compared to the true story, but this movie definitely does not follow exactly what happened in history. Visually this movie is stunning. Watching a locust like swarm of arrows darkening the sky as they fall onto the Spartans is amazing. The details on the Spartans, Xerxes outfit, and the colorful skies paint a picture that adds to the bloody battle that occurs over the course of the movie. The way the fight scenes are delivered was innovative for its time. Slo motion was built into the scenes to show brutal images of heads and limbs being chopped off, and blood spewing onto the camera as if it were in 3d. If you’re looking for a movie where you don’t need to think and just want to enjoy some bloody battles, this is a great movie for you. If you want something with a good story that you can sink your teeth into, you will definitely want to look elsewhere.

DPP’s Rating: 2.5/5

Patrick:  Let me start with the good.  300 is a beautiful movie.  Every moment of this film jumps of the screen and is gorgeous to look at.  Highly stylized violence looks amazing and even the blood spattering in the air fall beautifully across the screen.  The costumes and sets (what few physical sets there are) are sights unto themselves.  No one can argue this movie is short of action as there are battles aplenty to satisfy anyone’s violent appetites.  Yet, behind this gorgeous looking film lies nothing more than a testosterone fueled frat boy’s wet dream.

The movie is a fictionalized telling of the famed Battle of Thermopylae, the famed battle where 300 Spartan soldiers held the invading Persian Army for three days before falling.  That’s it.  That’s the story.  In getting from point A to point B we are entertained with Gerard Butler’s incoherent screaming speeches and battle cries.  The Persians are a perverted take on the mystical Asian trope whose depravity knows no limits.  The violence is over the top and gratuitous.  Even the impassioned plea to the Council by Leonidas’ Queen ends with a stabbing.  The dialogue is over the top cheesy and does not age well at all.  There are some truly fine actors in this movie, unfortunately from Gerard Butler to Lena Headey they can do nothing more with this over the top script but ham up every scene they are in.  Really, this movie feels like two-plus hours of pretty violence that contributes little and is easily forgetten.

Patrick’s Rating:  1.5/5

Dave:  It is virtually impossible to talk about 300 and not talk about Zack Snyder. In many ways, 300 is Snyder’s magnum opus. It is, without question, the movie that put him on the map. 300, adapted from the fantastic comic series of the same name by the legendary Frank Miller, is a largely fictional account of the Battle of Thermopylae and tells the story of how 300 Spartans stood their ground and fought to the bitterest of ends against a Persian Empire that outnumbered them 1000 to 1. In arguably his breakout role, Gerard Butler portrayed brave King Leonidas, the ruler of Sparta, as he refused to cede Sparta to the God King of Persia, Xerxes. Facing hopeless odds, and a form of government that definitely did not support him, Leonidas and his squad of 300 defiantly faced off, and defeated, just about everything Xerxes could throw at them. Employing a smart military strategy, the 300 turned back increasingly more difficult waves of enemies, almost like a video game. This included The Immortals (who did not live up to their name), as well as Elephants that looked like they were plucked from Lord of the Rings, and a variety of illusionists, mystical beasts, and creatures that look like they would be right at home in a Dungeons & Dragons campaign. In the end, an unexpected betrayal dooms Leonidas and his men…but not before Leonidas could defy Xerxes to his face in the closing moments of the movie.

What makes this movie exceptional is the action, the fights, and the art style used in many of the scenes that mimicked the art style from the comics. There are numerous instances where the graphic novel comes to life on the screen in front of you. Is it over the top? Absolutely. Is it brutal in places? Most definitely. Is it fun to watch? Very much so. Is it perfect? Not by a long shot. But if you are one of the fortunate ones reading this who have not yet seen 300, you will almost certainly find yourself cheering for Leonidas to defy all the odds, survive, and get back to his wife and son. Unlike one of the more iconic lines from the movie, you will enjoy this.

Dave’s Rating: 4/5

Bandwagon Nerds Rating:  2.7/5

Don’t forget to check out this week’s edition of Bandwagon Nerds with board game enthusiast Justin Dowd!