Is it a good movie?

great, thank you for your feedback, fellow earthling. 

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by deer1 » 2 hours ago (Mon Sep 28 2015 21:07:08)
IMDb member since September 2003
Post Edited: Mon Sep 28 2015 21:21:39
I'd say that 300 is without a doubt one of most important action films of last decade or so. The cultural impact this film had is a phenomenon itself.

Now first things first. Forget historical accuracy while watching 300. This film is not trying to archive that as it is based on Frank Miller's comic series. Like you can read from many sources, 300 idealizes the conflict of that time and romanticizes the whole ideal of an ancient Sparta. But this is nothing new under the sun as this storytelling tradition began in ancient times. Historical details can be overlooked because the main theme of the story is so powerfull. Besides if one wants to know more about how it really happened, there are plenty of good books and tv documentaries about the subject.

So why is it a popular film? Or why has this myth of 300 spartans remained so popular throughout the years of human history? Well the answer is obvious. The very idea of 300 spartan warriors standing against the mighty persian army is a magnificent tale. It is worth of retelling over and over. It is part of our dna. Something like this will always inspire us.

Thanks, for your feedback and interesting hx lesson. 

It was informative & well-received.

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It is important, as it has clearly influenced the whole generation of movies, even documentaries, and it arguably reshaped modern understanding of ancient Greek/Spartan warriors in pop culture.

Unfortunately, that influence was a bad one, since those not willing to go through 1000+ pages of Herodotus, and those not immersed in the story enough to do additional research - not an easy task btw. will develop, and did, a completely wrong picture of both ancient Greek and Persian culture as well as their relations, and, ultimately, Spartans themselves.

To problem isn't so much about historical inaccuracies in terms of completely fictitious representation of Spartan society, culture, their socio-political reality, their upbringing, their relationship with other Greeks, the allied Greek force, the equipment, the tactic, the geography of the pass, the events, the enemy etc...Some of those inaccuracies could be forgiven, if it wasn't for a completely fabricated, exaggerated (and I am not thinking about visuals) modernized and misinterpreted narrative that is more closer to George W. Bush's wet dream from early 2000's than an ancient Greek reality.

It doesn't pay homage to men who respected their adversary yet fought to the last breath with them. It didn't include the great struggle for the body of a fallen king, so vividly described by Herodotus. It speaks nothing of a Thespian refusal to obey Spartan king and abandon the battlefield, and nothing about numerous Spartan serfs who stood and died by their masters. It doesn't even try to study the background of the events, the complex emotion, ethical and moral principles of Greeks and Persians alike. No, this stereotypical excuse for an art piece didn't find those ''details'' as you call them, Hollywood enough, as much as slowmo and cgi blood are, and instead, made this meme inspiring mess.

Why is it popular, because they knew their target audience well.

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