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300: Rise of an Empire

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Reviews in chronological order (Total 1 review)

Well, I haven't seen all films of this series and their ilk. This is the most hokey film of its kind I've ever seen. Copious withdrawals have been made from a fake blood bank to depict battle wounds. Sets and special effects are spectacularly done. Much is made of Athenian democracy as a better way of rule. Did Themisocles of Athens really have kinky sex with Artemisia, admiral of the Persian fleet? Did Themisocles kill King Darius and Artemisia himself? Not according to Wikipedia. Artemisia and Queen Gorgo of Sparta are shown going into battle one-on-one as armed warriors in full makeup. And King Xerxes of Persia seems to be costumed for a gay ball. I'd recommend this work for those who like to see lots of bloody combat.

7 March 2014 10:56PM

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Review: ‘300: Rise Of An Empire’ Starring Eva Green & Sullivan Stapleton

Rodrigo perez.

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In 2006, Zack Snyder took the movie world by storm with “ 300 ,” a muscular, testosterone-fueled adaptation of a Frank Miller swords-and-sandals graphic novel which took  Robert Rodriguez ’s“ Sin City ” concept—painting the comic book pages right onto the screen—to the next level, and arguably, its zenith. It was something of a game-changer and surprise runaway hit, cementing Snyder’s status as a tentpole-worthy filmmaker, grossing $450 million worldwide and transforming March into the early blockbuster season it is now.

As with any box-office success, the studio’s avaricious appetite for more was whet and a sequel was quickly green lit. Eight tardy years later, the belated sequel “ 300: Rise Of An Empire ” arrives in theaters, its momentum all but nonexistent. And just as faded as the sheen of its former sinewy glory, so is the spark of inspiration that made its sweaty predecessor if not worthwhile, at least marginally entertaining. Acting as prequel, sidequel, concurrent-quel and proper sequel, ‘Rise Of An Empire’ begins before the events of “300,” then pivots alongside them, and eventually surpasses them to tell the next chapter of Persian imperialists trying to overthrow Greece. If “300” was the story of the prideful Spartans facing the Persians on their own terms only to die a beautiful death (but one ultimately in vain), then ‘Empire’ is the near-contemporaneous tale of Athenian soldiers trying to unite the nation against the Indo-European invaders while Sparta goes off to war.

Ambitious in its storytelling aims and scope, ‘Rise Of An Empire’ is nevertheless still fairly muddled with over-expository voice-over, back story and shifting POVs. Written by Snyder and Kurt Johnstad (based on Frank Miller ‘s graphic novel “ Xerxes “), the movie is equally as (if not more) interested in the origins of its villains than it is its heroes and this is because the baddies are superficially much more interesting than the bland “fight for glory and freedom” protagonists, but ultimately they’re just campier, but not much more well-drawn. ‘Rise Of An Empire’ begins by running down the events of how mortal-turned-god Xerxes ( Rodrigo Santoro , again reprising the role from the first film) came to power. His tale overlaps with that of the Greek general warrior Themistokles ( Sullivan Stapleton ) and how he fought off Xerxes father’s army decades earlier. This in turn sets the stage for the manipulative and vengeful Artemisia (a haughty, scenery-chewing Eva Green ), who is revealed as the implacable puppet-master behind Xerxes transformation into an unstoppable deity.

Shifting to almost present day, narratively speaking, Xerxes’ army descends on Greece again, the Spartans you knew and loved so much march off towards their inevitable fate, and Themistokles is left to not only convince Greek bureaucrats against surrender, but to fight off Xerxes’ armies at sea (where most of the movie’s battles are set). But as theoretically inventive as interweaving the plot with the history of its forebear is, and as different as its sea battles are from the ground war fought in the original, at the end of the day “300: Rise Of An Empire” is forged from the exact same irons, thematically, emotionally and narratively (read: it’s pretty much the exact fucking movie note for note). Only this time the metals have totally cooled and oxidized providing none of the same temperature, intensity or rousing zeal that made the original so attractive to even the casual fan (it’s not a terrific movie by any stretch, but still engaging for what it is).

From the outside, director Noam Murro seems an odd choice for the “300” sequel given that his only feature-length film before this was the talky, 2008 indie drama “ Smart People .” But Murro’s bread and butter is actually the world of slick advertising and high-concept commercial work for clients like Adidas, Stella Artois, Nike, Hyundai and Volkswagen. So the filmmaker is actually quite at home amongst the effects and visual gimmickry. And yet stylistically, ‘Rise Of An Empire’ is just as played and familiar. No amount of “cool” speed-ramping, slow-motion fighting or explosive digital blood eruptions (of which there are many), can infuse the movie with much vigor and so none is delivered.

As alluring and entertaining as Eva Green is initially, her overwrought vamping eventually wears out its welcome; especially as the movie cannot reconcile the fact that tonally, she appears to be acting in an entirely different film from the overly-sincere Greek warriors (a gratuitous sex-scene with a naked Green would be the movie’s only delight if it weren’t so ridiculously dumb and out of place with the rest of the picture; the nudity also so shameless you actually feel bad for this gorgeous French vixen who deserves much better). Whereas “300” solidified Gerard Butler ’s status as a heroic leading man (only to melt just as his six-pack abs did), the protagonist here, Themistokles, is comparatively a blank canvas dud. Written in the broadest and blandest of strokes, shouting throaty, leftover platitudes about honor, victory, glory, etc, Sullivan Stapleton is a total bore in this ironically thankless male lead role. ‘Empire’ tries to inject much-needed heart into its story by adding a father/son dynamic played by Callan Mulvey and up-and-coming English actor Jack O’Connell , but this tangent is also just as uninspired and routine as every other element of the movie. Spartans Lena Headey and David Wenham reprise their roles from the original in supporting roles, but do little other than marginally orient viewers already familiar with the original.

Scored by Junkie XL , the film is mercifully free of the propulsive, big-beat electronica the Dutch composer is known, but the score is as anonymous as it would have been if written by any number of the faceless Hans Zimmer disciples who usually crank out such work. Shot by DP Simon Duggan , his contributions to the now-customary visual template is a bluer patina and pervasive digital 3D dust that seems to float through every frame for what appears to be no real reason other than to create a sense of faux-depth.

Forgettable and only mildly entertaining, “ 300: Rise of An Empire ” seals its own fate at the initial story level by being so deeply invested in its own mythmaking and playing it super safe. To deviate stylistically (or otherwise) would be refreshing, but totally incongruent. And so rather than trying to break the mold, Murro’s movie embraces its rote lot, but at the expense of anything interesting or compelling. Story wise, ‘Rise Of An Empire’ has absolutely nothing new to say other than go through the pedestrian motions of articulating boring character origins and so it’s easy to be cynical about its motivations. Continuing the story of beloved characters while sometimes tiresome is at least understandable from a business perspective. Feeding into the fable with dull, half-hearted characters in the same milieu just kills the legend before it can even begin. And that’s, well, bad business, above and beyond being ill-advised. The “300” sequel might verbalize how the ‘Empire’ came into power, but so tedious and un-excitingly executed is the tale, it’s doubtful anyone will be singing songs about this kingdom ever again. [D+]

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I gave a four-star rating to " Sin City ," the 2005 film based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller . Now, as I deserve, I get "300," based on another work by Miller. Of the earlier film, I wrote prophetically: "This isn't an adaptation of a comic book, it's like a comic book brought to life and pumped with steroids." They must have been buying steroids wholesale for "300." Every single male character, including the hunchback, has the muscles of a finalist for Mr. Universe.

Both films are faithful to Miller's plots and drawings. "300," I learn, reflects the book almost panel-by-panel. They lean so heavily on CGI that many shots are entirely computer-created. Why did I like the first, and dislike the second? Perhaps because of the subject matter, always a good place to start. "Sin City," directed by Robert Rodriguez and Miller, is film noir, my favorite genre, taken to the extreme. "300," directed by Zack Snyder , is ancient carnage, my least favorite genre, taken beyond the extreme. "Sin City" has vividly- conceived characters and stylized dialogue. "300" has one-dimensional caricatures who talk like professional wrestlers plugging their next feud.

The movie involves a legendary last stand by 300 death-obsessed Spartans against a teeming horde of Persians. So brave and strong are the Spartans that they skewer, eviscerate, behead and otherwise inconvenience tens of thousands of Persians before finally falling to the weight of overwhelming numbers. The lesson is that the Spartans are free, and the Persians are slaves, although the Spartan idea of freedom is not appetizing (children are beaten to toughen them).

But to return to those muscles. Although real actors play the characters and their faces are convincing, I believe their bodies are almost entirely digital creations. They have Schwarzeneggerian biceps, and every last one of them, even the greybeards, wear well-defined six- packs on their abs. I can almost believe the star, Gerard Butler , may have been working out at Gold's Gym ever since he starred as the undernourished Phantom of the Opera, but not 300, 200 or even 100 extras. As a result, every single time I regarded the Spartans in a group, I realized I was seeing artistic renderings, not human beings.

Well, maybe that was the idea.

The movie presents other scenes of impossibility. Look at the long- shots of the massed Persians. There are so many they would have presented a logistical nightmare: How to feed and water them? Consider the slave-borne chariot that Xerxes pulls up in. It is larger that the imperial throne in the Forbidden City, with a wide staircase leading up to Xerxes. Impressive, but how could such a monstrosity be lugged all the way from Persia to Greece? I am not expected to apply such logic, I know, but the movie flaunts its preposterous effects.

And what about Xerxes ( Rodrigo Santoro ) himself? He stands around eight feet tall, I guess, which is good for 500 B.C. (Santoro's height in life: 6 feet, 2.75 inches). He towers over Leonidas (Butler), so we know his body isn't really there. But what of his face? I am just about prepared to believe that the ancient Persians went in for the piercing of ears, cheeks, eyebrows, noses, lips and chins. But his eyebrow have been plucked and re-drawn into black arches that would make Joan Crawford envious. And what about the mascara and the cute little white lines on the eyelids? When the Spartans describe the Athenians as "philosophers and boy-lovers," I wish they had gone right ahead to discuss the Persians.

The Spartans travel light. They come bare-chested, dressed in sandals, bikini briefs and capes. They carry swords and shields. At the right time, they produce helmets which must have been concealed in their loincloths. Also apples. And from the looks of them, protein shakes. They are very athletic, able to construct a towering wall of thousands of dead Persians in hours, even after going to all the trouble of butchering them. When they go into battle, their pep talks sound like the screams of drunken sports fans swarming onto the field.

They talk, as I suggested, like pro wrestlers, touting the big showdown between Edge and The Undertaker. "Be afraid!" they rumble, stopping just short of adding, "Be very afraid." They talk about going on the "warpath," unaware that the phrase had not yet been coined by American Indians. Their women, like Gorgo ( Lena Headey ), queen of Leonidas, are as bloodthirsty as their men, just like wrestler's wives.

All true enough. But my deepest objection to the movie is that it is so blood-soaked. When dialogue arrives to interrupt the carnage, it's like the seventh-inning stretch. In slow motion, blood and body parts spraying through the air, the movie shows dozens, hundreds, maybe thousands, of horrible deaths. This can get depressing.

In old movies, ancient Greeks were usually sort of noble. Now they have become lager louts. They celebrate a fascist ideal. They assume a bloodthirsty audience, or one suffering from attention deficit (how many disembowelings do you have to see to get the idea?). They have no grace and wisdom in their speech. Nor dignity in their bearing: They strut with arrogant pride. They are a nasty bunch. As Joe Mantegna says in " House of Games ," "You're a bad pony, and I'm not gonna bet on you." That's right before he dies, of course.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film Credits

Rated R violence, nudity, sexuality

117 minutes

Lena Headey as Gorgo

Andrew Tiernan as Ephialtes

Vincent Regan as Captain

Gerard Butler as Leonidas

Peter Mensah as Messenger

Michael Fassbender as Stelios

Andrew Pleavin as Daxos

Dominic West as Theron

David Wenham as Dilios

Tom Wisdom as Astinos

Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes

Stephen McHattie as Loyalist

Screenplay by

• Michael B. Gordon
• Kurt Johnstad

Directed by

• Zack Snyder

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300 Reviews

300 claims some impressive visuals, but the narrow-mindedness of the plot and the childishness of the writing made this film hugely disappointing.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/5 | Mar 8, 2024

Forget realism, this is Greek history as a macho fantasy that privileges brute force over intellect and turns war in an epic gladiator battle.

Full Review | Aug 19, 2023

Stylized violence at its finest.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Nov 24, 2020

If you're looking to see the rich, deep imagery of 300 play out in the most beautiful, bone-crunching way possible, this 4K offering is absolutely a must-have.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 19, 2020

Butler encompasses the demeanor of a mighty and powerful king/warrior whom men would follow into battle.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Oct 8, 2020

Very violent, but rich in atmosphere and amazing visuals.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Aug 4, 2020

300 isn't up to the same level as Sin City, but it is still quite entertaining. Fans of blood, gore, and comic book violence won't be disappointed.

Full Review | Original Score: B | Nov 21, 2019

By no means great art, but it most certainly is fantastic trash.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 6, 2019

A highly stylised fantasy, its colour palette both lush and gloomy. Leonidas is inspiring and practical and as usual when Butler's playing someone who isn't from Scotland, 50% Scottish. Headey is terrific, put her in charge of the Ancient World right now.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 19, 2018

What's really striking about the film is that it doesn't even have the aesthetics of a comic book, to say nothing of a graphic novel-the best examples of which, at least, show considerable concern for subtle narrative rhythms.

Full Review | Aug 23, 2018

If you're in the mood for dumb, rousing, visceral excitement, you're not going to find anything on the big screen right now to rival it.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 6, 2018

There is an intelligent movie to be made about Spartan warrior culture, but 300 is not it. It is a fun ride, though, as long as you don't see it on a full stomach.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 22, 2016

Our instinctual desire to sneer at the implausibility of the story is stalled by a sense of ambition that seems unmatched even by the standards of the Hollywood assembly line.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 13, 2013

So manly it makes Troy look like a Mary-Kate and Ashley adventure.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 3, 2012

Wallowing in the same adolescent nihilism as his Sin City, this adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel suffers from a similar lack of momentum.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 9, 2012

Despite a cracking central premise and outstanding visuals, 300 ultimately leaves you feeling more gutted than some of the disemboweled soldiers on display throughout the movie.

Full Review | Jul 6, 2010

As the first blockbuster of the year, 300 sets the bar high enough, and is enjoyably silly.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jul 6, 2010

If 300 represents an evolution in 'virtual' cinema, then at the same time it tells a story that transports us back to the violent roots of western civilisation.

Full Review | Original Score: A+ | Jul 6, 2010

Visually thrilling and viscerally satisfying.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 6, 2010

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300: rise of an empire: film review.

Eva Green and Sullivan Stapleton star in director Noam Murro's sequel to the 2007 film.

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

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Playing the most vicious, and certainly sexiest, naval commander ever to ride the waves of the Aegean, Eva Green has a one-for-the-ages scene in 300: Rise of an Empire , in which she decapitates an adversary with two deft sword strokes, then, holding his head by the hair, kisses him on the mouth with pointedly derisive hunger. Given his condition, the man does not respond but, given the bestower, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had … just a bit.

Other than for the pleasure of watching Green try to conquer ancient Greece dressed as a distant forebearer of Catwoman, more is less and a little late in this long-aborning sequel to the 2007 bloodbath that was stylistically extreme and just different enough from anything else in its field to become an international action sensation. Centering on mostly aquatic battles that historically took place simultaneously to the Battle of Thermopylae so fancifully depicted in the earlier film, this follow-up slavishly adheres to the graphic comics-meet-video games look of the original. It would be a mild surprise if box-office results equaled those of the original, which came to $456 million worldwide (slightly more from foreign than domestic tills), but most fans will still probably want to check it out.

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Although Gerard Butler ‘s star has significantly fallen due to the 17 mediocre films he’s made since 300 , he’s missed here; his replacement at the top of the sequel’s cast, Australian actor Sullivan Stapleton , just can’t bellow on a par with Butler, whose cocky, over-the-top abandon and staunch physical presence leave big sandals to fill. Visually, there was clearly a mandate to hew close to the original’s look. All the same, it’s disappointing that, after all the years, no effort has been made to augment or riff on the style at all; in fact, the new film is more monochromatic and duller in appearance, lacking the bold reds and rich earth tones that are glimpsed here in brief visits to Sparta and the events at Thermopylae.

Original director Zack Snyder , who moved on to the Superman franchise at Warner Bros., turned the directing reins over to Israeli commercials ace Noam Murro , whose previous feature was the 2008 independent Smart People . However, Snyder stayed around to co-produce and adapt Frank Miller ‘s graphic novel Xerxes along with returning co-scripter Kurt Johnstad . Other top creative personnel are different, which hasn’t prevented the sequel from sporting the same bombastic, slo-mo, blood-in-your-face aesthetic.

Narrated by Lena Headey ‘s Spartan Queen Gorgo, Rise looks at the Persian invasion of Greece, in the late summer of 480 B.C., from a different angle than did the land-based 300 , concentrating on the purported 1,000-ship fleet that King Xerxes expected would have an easy time conquering the divided Greeks. It also provides some nifty illustrated backstory tidbits; that the arrow that killed Persian King Darius was fired by Themistokles (Stapleton), that Artemisia (Green) is a Greek who turned on her own people for what they did to her and her family, and that Xerxes (the returning Rodrigo Santoro ), in a vividly illustrated sequence, had himself transformed from man to golden god (who resembles a walking advertisement for a Beverly Hills jewelry store) so he could exact revenge for his father’s death by conquering the Greeks once and for all.

VIDEO: ‘300: Rise of an Empire’ Trailer Has More Blood, Guts and Glory

So while Spartan King Leonidas keeps Xerxes occupied at the “hot gates,” the non-aristocratic soldier-politician Themistokles dares to engage the mighty Persian navy with a far smaller force, but with much shrewdness. Although he’s managed to patch together a coalition of Greek states to try to ward off the Persians’ assault, his repeated attempts to persuade Sparta to join in are rebuffed by Gorgo, who insists that her city-state does not share the Athenian dream of a united Greece.

But in 300 — or is it 600 now? — 2,500-year-old geopolitics takes a back seat to ranting speeches, ripped torsos, manly-manness and the spurting, spilling and splashing blood, which is often aimed strategically at the viewer for maximum 3D effect. When Greeks wade into battle jumping from ship to ship, the film slips way over into video game mode as Themistokles, the father-son team of Scyllias and Calisto (Callan Mulvey and Jack O’Connell) and others implausibly cut through hordes of opponents with little trouble.

For much of the time, the Greeks have luck on their side, and director Murro and his team clearly visualize how low clouds and fog hide the straits into which the home team induces the invaders to unwittingly enter. They also show how the outnumbered locals effectively use a circling strategy to disrupt the Persians’ attack mode, sending many to a watery grave.

To be an unsuccessful subordinate to Artemisia is not an enviable position; her punishments, as we’ve seen, are most creative. But as her opponents’ successes mount, the imperious warrior develops an admiration — and maybe something more — for Themistokles’ skills. Implausibly, he accepts her invitation for a shipboard summit, at which their intense enmity crosses the line into craven lust, resulting in a contest of rough and varied sex that leaves them both with a heightened sense of competitiveness. That she doesn’t kill him afterward like a praying mantis seems entirely out of character.

Although Themistokles’ inspirational speech to his dwindling supply of troops is nowhere near as rousing as Leonidas’ was before the Spartans’ last stand in 300 , the result in the Straits of Salamis is quite the opposite. In their final armed face-off, Artemisia takes the opportunity to insult Themistokles’ lovemaking skills, but he has the last laugh.

If Rise proves to be anywhere near as successful as its progenitor, one or perhaps two films could follow that would be set in the following year, 479 B.C., when the united Greeks, this time with Spartan help, put an end once and for all to Persian dreams of local conquest with same-day land and sea victories at Plataea and Mycale, respectively.

More than in the original, it’s often easy to tell where the small foreground sets occupied by the actors end and the digitally created backgrounds begin. The score by Junkie XL is predictably orotund, although some unusual and arresting moments emerge here and there.

Production: Cruel and Unusual Films, Mark Canton/Gianni Nunnari Productions Cast: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Headey, Hans Matheson, Callan Mulvey, Rodrigo Santoro, Jack O’Connell, Andrew Tiernan, Igal Naor, Andrew Pleavin Director: Noam Murro Screenwriters: Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, based on the graphic novel Xerxes by Frank Miller Producers: Gianni Nunnari, Mark Canton, Zack Snyder, Bernie Goldman Executive producers: Thomas Tull, Frank Miller, Stephen Jones, Craig J. Flores, Jon Jashni Director of photography: Simon Duggan Production designer: Patrick Tatopoulos Costume designer: Alexandra Byrne Editors: Wyatt Smith, David Brenner Music: Junkie XL Visual effects supervisors: Richard Hollander, John ‘DJ’ Desjardin

Rated R, 103 minutes

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• REVIEW: <i>300: Rise of an Empire</i>: This Great Gutsby is Bloody Good

REVIEW: 300: Rise of an Empire : This Great Gutsby is Bloody Good

E nough with the PG-13-rated war epics! Thousands, maybe millions die violently in recent action movies set in the past ( The Legend of Hercules , Pompeii ) or the future ( World War Z , Pacific Rim ), yet the combat on screen is sedate, anodyne. To understand the disasters of war, the audience needs to see the thrust of the sword, feel the impact of the bullet — aspects of mortality that are fully available only in films with an R rating. The old masters knew this — Sam Peckinpah with The Wild Bunch , Francis Ford Coppola with Apocalypse Now , Oliver Stone with Platoon , Steven Spielberg with Saving Private Ryan — and their rule should apply today. In any truly vigorous film of men at war, there must, there will be blood.

There’s plenty of blood in 300: Rise of an Empire , the followup to the 2007 smash 300 — both based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller. In depicting the Battle of Salamis between the Greeks and the Persians, director Noam Murro has upped the density level of the blood spilled: from, say, Campbell’s Tomato Soup to Campbell’s Chunky Beef with Tomato and Extra Innards. Soldiers hack away at their foes, and the gore spills in slo-mo across the 3-D IMAX screen like an action painting from Jackson Pollock’s crimson period, or a troll’s projectile vomit, or fistfuls of cranberry sauce hurled across the Thanksgiving table by your angry uncle.

(READ: Lev Grossman’ inside story on Zack Snyder’s 300 )

We’re saying the movie is bloody. In dark, roiling images captured by cinematographer Simon Duggan, who last did The Great Gatsby (this is his Great Gutsby ), the spectacle in Rise of an Empire provides both a graphic lesson on the spoils, indeed the soils, of war and a dizzying aesthetic experience — as when an injured warrior falls from his ship, and the plasma spreads through the water like a school of sea anemones. One can watch in repulsion or wonder; either response is O.K. So is flinching.

Rise of an Empire , which opens exactly seven years after 300 , is neither a sequel nor a prequel to Zack Snyder’s CGI/green-screen epic about Leonides (Gerard Butler) at the Battle of Thermopylae in 479 B.C. Rather, it’s a “meanwhile” movie: it covers events that took place in the rest of Greece slightly before, during and after the Sparta-Persia skirmish. This time the Athenians — trained in pottery and poetry, not war — raise the pan-Hellenic flag. Led by General Themistocles (Aussie actor Sullivan Stapleton, who looks and sounds like Michael Fassbender’s grunt double), they will out-fight and outsmart the gigantic naval force of King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and put an end to Persia’s dream of annexing Greece.

(READ: Corliss’s review of 300 )

You knew all that from ninth-grade history. But maybe your teacher didn’t mention that Artemisia, a Greek girl who became Queen of Persia, commanded the imperial Navy with supreme finesse in swordsmanship and the sneer of a gorgeous Gorgon to wither all enemies. That, anyway, is the take that Miller and Snyder, as producer and cowriter (with Kurt Johnstad) lay on their new movie — and that the always luscious Eva Green brings to ferociously seductive life.

For a legendary woman warrior, Artemisia shows few strategic skills, counting on her edge in naval vessels to defeat the Greeks. She’s also no marksman’s match for Themistocles. One of his arrows kills the Persian ruler Darius (Igal Naor), Xerxes’ father and Artemisia’s husband; yet three of her arrows that land in Themistocles’s body only send him into the water for a cleansing that may make him a god-man. Xerxes went through the same deity bath, but it transformed him only from a dishy human into a gold-plated glam-rock poseur. Despite deploying what may be history’s first suicide bombers, the Persians simply can’t catch a break, from the gods or the scriptwriters.

(READ: Roger Rosenblatt on Themistocles and the Olympic Ideal by subscribing to TIME)

Artemisia’s real strengths are her seductive beauty and her addiction for revenge. As a child, she was captured, abused and discarded by Greek soldiers (Caitlin Carmichael and Jade Chynoweth exude a smoldering resentment as the eight- and 13-year-old Artemisia). Moving in with Darius, she nursed that wound into the mission to conquer all Greece with the Persian Navy she now commands. During one battle, when she decapitates a Greek soldier, she lifts the dead man’s head and, with a tender hatred, kisses it on the mouth.

The irresistible siren is a creature right up Green’s alley. An ivory-skinned beauty with a forehead as high as the Metalunans’ in This Island Earth , the Franco-Swedish actress made an indelibly lubricious impression in her film debut as the teen temptress in Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Dreamers . She was a middle-Eastern princess in Ridley Scott’s Kingdom of Heaven , James Bond’s doomed love Vespa Lind in the Casino Royale reboot , a witch who haunts Johnny Depp in Tim Burton’s Dark Shadows and the sorceress Morgan in the Starz series Camelot . As the kohl-eyed leather goddess Artemisia, Green channels cultural history’s most implacable divas, from Anna Magnani to Maria Callas, from Medea to Cruella de Vil. Green’s imposing solemnity allows her to play a camp vamp as if she were a tragic heroine — ideal for a role that mixes hubris and the hots.

(READ: A love note to Eva Green in Perfect Sense )

Green’s presence here hints at the other reason movies get a Restricted rating: so the little ones won’t be frightened by the sight of a beautiful woman with her shirt off. The original 300 was famed for its display of finely sculpted man-meat, a Muscle Beach party of perfect abs, lats and triceps — all male, in what was probably the most homo-erotic war movie ever. Rise of an Empire has similar beefcake on view; the actors pose like statuary in the Ancient Hunk wing of the British Museum. For this film, though, the begetters seem to have decided that, if they’re going to make a bloody R, they may as well make it a sexy R, too. As in heterosexy.

So the movie turns Artemisia and Themistocles into erotic as well as military rivals. Their first face-to-face encounter, in the hold of her flagship, quickly escalates into belly-to-belly, and a few more forceful variations. For these two, sex is violence — the expression of lovemaking as war by other means that has the jolt of intense intimate combat. When it’s over she smirks, “You’re not a god. You’re just a man.”

(READ: What Ever Happened to Movie Sex? )

[SPOILER ALERT:] And in the inevitable final swordplay between the two, Artemisia tartly acknowledges, “You fight harder than you f—.” That remark must steam Themistocles: he drops his cutlass and punches her square in the face. In about 30 seconds, the movie has recapitulated the sad history of the battle of the sexes: brute force over guile. Mortally stabbed by Themistocles, Artemisia pushes her body deeper into the blade, until she is close enough to her killer to kiss him, just as she did earlier to a vanquished Greek. [END SPOILER ALERT.]

For added allure, Lena Headey returns as Leonides’ wife, now widow. His heroic death has etched the Queen’s face with a grave luster, as she debates with Themistocles whether to bequeath her remaining cadre of Spartans to the all-Greek cause. Her eventual “Yes” cues a handsome tilt of ships and men, played out in front of green screens that animate the background action. (The movie was shot in Bulgaria and L.A.) But for all the energetic milling, Rise of an Empire proves superior to its predecessor by making war a game both sexes can play, on nearly equal terms. In comparison, the R-rated 300 seems as innocent as Adam in the Garden before the delicious complication of Eve — or Eva.

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Review: The '300': Ah, the fine-looking fighters of freedom-loving Sparta

By A.O. Scott

• March 8, 2007

300 Directed by Zack Snyder

The film "300" is about as violent as "Apocalypto" and twice as stupid. Adapted from a graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, it offers up a bombastic spectacle of honor and betrayal, rendered in images that might have been airbrushed onto a customized van sometime in the late 1970s. The basic story is a good deal older. It's all about the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, which unfolded at a narrow pass on the coast of Greece whose name translates as Hot Gates.

Hot Gates, indeed! Devotees of the pectoral, deltoid and other fine muscle groups will find much to savor as King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) leads 300 prime Spartan porterhouses into battle against Persian forces commanded by Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), a decadent self-proclaimed deity who wants, as all good movie villains do, to rule the world.

The Persians, pioneers in the art of facial piercing, have vastly greater numbers — including ninjas, dervishes, elephants, a charging rhino and an angry bald giant — but the Spartans clearly have superior health clubs and electrolysis facilities. They also hew to a warrior ethic of valor and freedom that makes them, despite their gleeful appetite for killing, the good guys in this tale. (It may be worth pointing out that unlike their mostly black and brown foes, the Spartans and their fellow Greeks are white.)

But not all the Spartans back in Sparta support their king on his mission. A gaggle of sickly, corrupt priests, bought off by the Persians, consult an oracular exotic dancer whose topless gyrations lead to a warning against going to war. And the local council is full of appeasers and traitors, chief among them a sardonic, shifty-eyed smoothy named Theron (Dominic West).

Too cowardly to challenge Leonidas man to man, he fixes his attention on Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), a loyal wife and Spartan patriot who fights the good fight on the home front. Gorgo understands her husband's noble purpose. "Come home with your shield or on it," she tells him as he heads off into battle after a night of somber marital whoopee. Later she observes that "freedom is not free."

Another movie — Matt Stone and Trey Parker's "Team America," whose wooden puppets were more compelling actors than most of the cast of "300" — calculated the cost at $1.05. I would happily pay a nickel less, in quarters or arcade tokens, for a vigorous 10-minute session with the video game that "300" aspires to become. Its digitally tricked-up color scheme, while impressive at times, is hard to tolerate for nearly two hours, and the hectic battle scenes would be much more exciting in the first person. I want to chop up some Persians too!

There are a few combat sequences that achieve a grim, brutal grandeur, notably an early engagement in which the Spartans, hunkered behind their shields, push back against a Persian line, forcing enemy soldiers off a cliff into the water. The big idea, spelled out over and over in voice-over and dialogue in case the action is too subtle, is that the free, manly men of Sparta fight harder and more valiantly than the enslaved masses under Xerxes' command. Allegory hunters will find some gristly morsels of topicality, but you can find many of the same themes, conveyed with more nuance and irony, in a Pokémon cartoon.

Zack Snyder's first film, a remake of George Romero's "Dawn of the Dead," showed wit as well as technical dexterity. While some of that filmmaking acumen is evident here, the script for "300," which he wrote with Kurt Johnstad and Michael Gordon, is weighed down by the lumbering portentousness of the original book.

In time, "300" may find its cultural niche as an object of camp derision, like the sword-and-sandals epics of an earlier, pre-computer-generated-imagery age. At present, though, its muscle-bound, grunting self-seriousness is more tiresome than entertaining. Go tell the Spartans, whoever they are, to stay home and watch wrestling.

Screen Rant

'300: rise of an empire' review, it may not court casual moviegoers as easily as its predecessor, but murro succeeds at delivering a 300 sequel that fans will enjoy watching..

The  300: Rise of an Empire  story follows Athenian general Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) in the Battle of Artemisium - while interweaving with the events of 300 (i.e., the Battle of Thermopylae). During the first attempted invasion of Greece by the Persian empire, Themistocles and his army successfully defend the Greek shoreline in the Battle of Marathon - mortally wounding King Darius I (Yigal Naor), father of Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and mentor to the ruthless Artemisia (Eva Greene).

As the king is dying, Artemisia formulates a plan to seek revenge on the Greeks by turning the naive (and cowardly) Prince Xerxes into a God-like figure for the Persian Empire to rally behind. Ten years later, Xerxes return with a devastating invasion force - engaging King Leonidas and his Spartan warriors on land at the Hot Gates, while Artemisia battles Themistocles and the Greek navy at sea. Like the 300, Themistocles is gravely outnumbered - forced to rely on cunning and the strength of a unified Greece if he hopes to once again defend his homeland and drive back the invading Persians.

300: Rise of an Empire  arrives eight years after Zack Snyder's original  300  wowed audiences with slick slow-motion fight sequences, an illustrative visual aesthetic, and an intriguing fantasy tale variation on the real-life Battle of Thermopylae. Snyder returns as executive producer but handed directorial duties over to Noam Murro ( Smart People ), who does his best to imitate the 300 formula but falls short of doing anything new or particularly memorable in the process. In general, it's an adequate follow-up, packed with action, machismo, over-the-top violence, and fantastic twists on actual events - but nearly every single element is slightly inferior to Snyder's original vision and execution. Fans of the original will, likely, enjoy returning to Frank Miller's exaggerated version of Greek history; yet,  300: Rise of an Empire doesn't offer the same cross-genre appeal as its predecessor.

The main plot is serviceable, jumping in and out of scenes previously seen in 300 to help flesh out the larger war with Xerxes, as well as the backstories of Artemisia and Themistocles. Familiar supporting characters -  like Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) and Dilios (David Wenham) - return to connect Rise of an Empire to the prior installment, but viewers shouldn't expect to spend a lot of time with the Spartans, as the sequel is tightly centered on the conflict between Artemisia and Themistocles.

Frank Miller, Kurt Johnstad and Snyder serve as screenwriters and craft another epic revision of a Greek history, with all the same romanticized ideas about honor, freedom, and beautiful deaths  - albeit with a bit less depth. Those who criticized the original 300 for being style over substance will find the ratio of visual spectacle to thought-provoking storytelling is significantly wider than before - providing an equal amount of over-the-top action but even less character development and thematic synergy.

Themistocles is a passable leading man but lacks the same gravity (and quotable lines) as his Spartan predecessor. Where Leonidas was a brash but sympathetic warrior, Themistocles is much more calculating and remorseful - making him interesting and heroic but not quite as engaging to watch on screen. Still, Stapleton is strong in the role, conveying the reasonability (and desperation) that Themistocles feels - while also shining in exciting (and bloody) fight choreography.

However, Artemisia is, without question, the film's most compelling addition - especially with Green in the part. Despite an over-complicated backstory and an obsessive search for a warrior that is truly worthy of a fight, the character reflects what's great about  300  - taking larger-than-life historical figures, setting them in a heightened series of real events, while making them relatable and enthralling in a modern movie experience (in spite of the twenty-five hundred years in between). Green commits to the role entirely, presenting a layered villainess whose tongue is just as quick as her sword - capable of fighting toe-to-toe with brawny greek warriors while also manipulating powerful Persian commanders into doing her bidding.

Unfortunately, the supporting cast is much less defined. Returning faces are a welcome bonus but every single one of Themistocles' warriors falls into a familiar trope (some of which were already explored in 300 ): a son that must earn his father's respect on the front lines, and a generic second-in-command that spends more time as a sounding board for Themistocles than he does actually fighting,etc... The origin of Xerxes adds a few extra layers to Rodrigo Santoro's God-king, but Rise of an Empire , much like 300 , once again shoves the character - and the Persian war machine - into the background to spotlight the battle at hand (not to mention leave ample room for another sequel).

In fact, the action is glued almost exclusively to Themistocles, aside from shots of nondescript greeks as they clash with featureless persians. And, while the fights are more violent than ever, they're a slight step down overall. The main battle sequences include set pieces that should get a reaction out of fans, but Rise of an Empire 's overall approach lacks the innovation and flair of Snyder's original. The naval combat is a smart change of pace that allows for some fresh ideas, but once swords hit shields in close combat, it's clear that Murro was struggling to find his own style while also including elements that returning moviegoers would expect from a 300 sequel (bloody slow-motion fighting, for example). Moment to moment it's all entertaining enough - Rise of an Empire just fails to evolve the story or sword-and-sandles brawling in any meaningful way.

300: Rise of an Empire is also playing in 3D and IMAX 3D; given the visual aesthetic of the film, both formats are worthwhile upgrades. Frugal moviegoers could compromise and skip the IMAX price hike (not the 3D) but the improved sound and screen space will be rewarding for anyone that is willing to spend the extra cash.

It may not court casual moviegoers as easily as its predecessor, but Murro succeeds at delivering a 300 sequel that fans will enjoy watching. Buoyed by a captivating performance from Eva Green and an adequate replacement for Gerard Butler in Sullivan Stapleton, it's still interesting (and exciting) to explore Frank Miller's retelling of the Greco-Persian war. Nevertheless, much like the real Battle of Artemisium - which often takes a backseat in history books to the Battle of Thermopylae - it's hard to imagine that  Rise of an Empire  will ever step out of  300 's lofty shadow.

If you’re still on the fence about  300: Rise of an Empire , check out the trailer below:

[poll id="771"]

300: Rise of an Empire  runs 102 minutes and is Rated R for strong sustained sequences of stylized bloody violence throughout, a sex scene, nudity and some language. Now playing in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D theaters.

Let us know what you thought of the film in the comment section below. If you’ve seen the movie and want to discuss details about the film without worrying about spoiling it for those who haven’t seen it, please head over to our  300: Rise of an Empire  Spoilers Discussion .

For an in-depth discussion of the film by the Screen Rant editors check out our 300: Rise of an Empire  episode  of the  SR Underground podcast .

Follow me on Twitter @ benkendrick  for future reviews, as well as movie, TV, and gaming news.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

• In the ancient battle of Thermopylae, King Leonidas and 300 Spartans fight against Xerxes and his massive Persian army. They face insurmountable odds when they are betrayed by a Spartan reject.
• In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian army in the mountain pass of Thermopylae. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the enemy in one of the most famous last stands of history. Persian King Xerxes led a Army of well over 100,000 (Persian king Xerxes before war has about 170,000 army) men to Greece and was confronted by 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians, and 400 Thebans. Xerxes waited for 10 days for King Leonidas to surrender or withdraw but left with no options he pushed forward. After 3 days of battle all the Greeks were killed. The Spartan defeat was not the one expected, as a local shepherd, named Ephialtes, defected to the Persians and informed Xerxes that the separate path through Thermopylae, which the Persians could use to outflank the Greeks, was not as heavily guarded as they thought. — cyberian2005
• 480 B.C. When a Persian envoy arrives at the gates of Sparta, Greece, demanding submission to King Xerxes, brave King Leonidas sends word to the Persian ruler that Spartans will never give up their rights over their land. As enraged King Xerxes dispatches armed-to-the-teeth multitudes of Persian soldiers to Thermopylae, a narrow coastal passage of strategic significance, King Leonidas and just 300 of his finest royal bodyguards march against the invading army, refusing to bow to the all-powerful enemy. And although the Spartans were vastly outnumbered, King Leonidas' men crushed wave after wave of superior Persian forces--a fierce, winner-take-all confrontation that would go down in the annals of history as the legendary Battle of Thermopylae. — Nick Riganas
• In 480 BC, the Persian king Xerxes sends his massive army to conquer Greece. The Greek city of Sparta houses its finest warriors, and 300 of these soldiers are chosen to meet the Persians at Thermopylae, engaging the soldiers in a narrow canyon where they cannot take full advantage of their numbers. The battle is a suicide mission, meant to buy time for the rest of the Greek forces to prepare for the invasion. However, that doesn't stop the Spartans from throwing their hearts into the fray, determined to take as many Persians as possible with them. — rmlohner
• Spartan customs are harsh. The Spartans inspect each infant born to ensure it is whole - if it is deformed, the baby is abandoned to die. They raise their boys in the school of hard knocks, the agoge - in combat training, a small boy's loss of his weapon earns a bloody lip from the hand of his own father. At age 7, each young boy is torn from his mother and makes his own way in the wilderness, to return a man. Even the King endures this rite of passage. At age 15, young King-to-be Leonidas ( Tyler Neitzel ) lures a wolf into a narrow passage so that he can kill it. He returns home to be crowned King. Years later, messengers visit King Leonidas ( Gerard Butler ) requesting Sparta's submission to King Xerxes ( Rodrigo Santoro ). Insulted by their attitude, King Leonidas kicks the messengers into a well. Acknowledging the threat of Xerxes's invasion force, he visits the Ephors (priests) to obtain their favour before sending the Spartan army in battle. He proposes to repel the numerically superior enemy by using the terrain of the Hot Gates of Thermopylae, funneling the Persians into a narrow pass between the rocks and the sea, where their immense numbers will "count for nothing." The Ephors, wary of the plan, consult the Oracle ( Kelly Craig ). In her drugged trance she decrees that Sparta must not go to war, lest they interrupt the sacred Carneian festival. Leonidas departs in anger, and the priests receive their bribe of Xerxes' gold from the Spartan traitor, Theron ( Dominic West ), for their negative response. Leonidas is reluctant to defy the corrupt clergy outright, but his wife ( Lena Headey ) encourages him to think outside the box. Leonidas elects to take 300 of his best soldiers as his "bodyguard" on a leisurely walk to the strategic Hot Gates location. His wife says goodbye, telling him to come back "with his shield or on it", and gives him a necklace. On the road they meet some allies, who are shocked that the Spartans are sending such a small force. Leonidas asks the professions of the allied army, who are craftsmen and artisans. He points out that he has brought more soldiers than they. Joined by Arcadians and other Greeks, they arrive at Thermopylae. In sight of the approaching Persian army, they construct a wall to contain the Persians' advance. Strong storms destroy some of Xerxes fleet, but it is only a small percentage of the massive army they will face. A horribly disfigured man, Ephialtes ( Andrew Tiernan ), comes to see Leonidas to warn him of a disused goat path at the rear of his position. Ephialtes claims that his parents fled Sparta at his birth to save his life. He hopes to redeem them by fighting for Leonidas. Leonidas explains that each Spartan warrior is a key part of the phalanx, and asks Ephialtes to show that he can lift his shield high enough to properly defend his fellow warriors. When it becomes evident that he cannot, Leonidas gently tells him to care for the fallen instead. Ephialtes' fondest hopes are crushed. A Persian emissary arrives, and finds that the corpses of the previous scouting party now make up part of the large rock wall. The Persian states that their arrows will blot out the sun, and the Spartans agree they will simply fight in the shade. The emissary's party is killed. Prior to the battle the Persians demand that the Spartans drop their arms and surrender. Leonidas refuses and challenges the Persians to come and take their weapons from them. With their tightly-knit phalanx formation, the Spartans funnel the Persians into the narrow terrain, repeatedly rebuffing them and inflicting heavy casualties. Xerxes, impressed with Spartan fighting skill, personally approaches Leonidas to persuade him to surrender. He promises Leonidas wealth and power in exchange for his loyalty. Leonidas declines, promising instead to make the "God King" bleed, and turns to rejoin his army. Dismayed at the refusal, Xerxes sends his masked personal guard, "The Immortals", which name the Spartans also prove false. The battles continue, with the Spartans prevailing over soldiers and animals drawn from the vast reaches of the Persian empire: from Mongolian barbarians and Eastern chemists to African rhinoceroses and Indian war elephants. However, some of the brave Spartan warriors are killed, and it becomes clear that more will follow. Ephialtes goes to Xerxes, and agrees to show the goat path to the Persians in exchange for a uniform, along with promises of women and wealth. Xerxes will grant Ephialtes his wish if he will kneel before the god king. Back in Sparta, Queen Gorgo has been trying to convince the council to send help to Leonidas. A friendly councilman arranges for her to speak, but explains that she will need Theron on her side. Theron agrees to help her if she will sleep with him - so she does. At the Hot Gates, the Spartans learn they have been betrayed, and know their fight is doomed. The Arcadians retreat in the face of certain death. The Spartans refuse to follow. Leonidas orders a reluctant Dilios to return to Sparta and tell of their inevitable deaths. In Sparta, Queen Gorgo makes her appeal to the council. Instead of supporting her as promised, Theron betrays her, accusing her of adultery. Enraged, Gorgo snatches a sword and stabs Theron, rupturing a bag of gold hidden in his robe. As the coins stamped with Persian markings spill onto the ground, the Council realizes Theron's treachery and agree to unite against Persia. At the Hot Gates, as the Persians surround the Spartans, who have created a dome out of their shields. Leonidas stands along in front of the dome. Xerxes's general demands their surrender, declaring that Leonidas may keep his title as King of Sparta and become Warlord of all Greece, answerable only to Xerxes. Ephialtes urges this as well, to which Leonidas remarks, "May you live forever," an insult from a culture valuing death and valor in battle. Leonidas drops his shield and removes his helmet, seemingly bowing in submission. Stelios then bursts out of the dome and leaps over his king and kills the general. A furious Xerxes orders his troops to attack. As Persian archers shoot the remaining Spartans, Leonidas rises and hurls his spear at Xerxes, ripping open his cheek, thus making "the God-King bleed." Xerxes, visibly shaken by this reminder of his own mortality, watches as the remaining Spartans perish beneath the combined might of his army. Leonidas himself marks his final moments by telling his wife aloud that he loves her. A rain of arrows falls upon him and the screen goes black. Back in Sparta, Dilios gives the necklace to Queen Gorgo and tells her of her husband's fate. Concluding his tale before an audience of attentive Spartans, Dilios declares that the 120,000-strong Persian army that narrowly defeated 300 Spartans now faces 10,000 Spartans commanding 30,000 Greeks. Praising Leonidas's sacrifice, Dilios leads the assembled Greek army into a fierce charge against the Persian army, igniting the Battle of Plataea.

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Common sense media reviewers.

Bloody, fanboyish retelling of an ancient battle.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Themes of underdog heroism and not bowing to corru

Even in the face of sure defeat, brave soldiers st

Over-the-top battle-scene violence, including grap

Extended love scene between Leonidas and the queen

Colorfully worded insults like: "motherless dogs,"

Parents need to know that this is no Masterpiece Theater rendition of ancient history. Like Sin City , 300 is an ultraviolent tale based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller. There's blood galore as the Spartans -- trained war machines -- defend their land against Xerxes' massive Persian army…

Positive Messages

Themes of underdog heroism and not bowing to corruption get a little lost in the blood and gore.

Positive Role Models

Even in the face of sure defeat, brave soldiers stand firm against tyrannous threats to freedom. A corrupt Spartan councilman is exposed as a traitor and brought to justice. But also some stereotyping based on Asian culture, as well as one character's physical disability.

Violence & Scariness

Over-the-top battle-scene violence, including graphic decapitations, severed limbs, mutilated bodies piled high, arrow-filled torsos, etc. Young Spartan boys are forced to furiously fight each other. The Spartan mottos are "No retreat, no surrender" and "No prisoners, no mercy."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Extended love scene between Leonidas and the queen; viewers can see her nude breasts and his butt. The adolescent Oracle writhes and sways while wearing a sheer cloth that reveals her breasts. A character unwillingly has sex to procure a politician's favor. Although no nudity is shown in that scene, the aggressor whispers menacingly: "This will not be fast. You will not enjoy this." Xerxes' lair is depicted like an orgy, with various half-dressed Persian women kissing, moaning, and having sex.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Colorfully worded insults like: "motherless dogs," "philosophers and boy-lovers," etc.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this is no Masterpiece Theater rendition of ancient history. Like Sin City , 300 is an ultraviolent tale based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller. There's blood galore as the Spartans -- trained war machines -- defend their land against Xerxes' massive Persian army. Battlefield valor and violence is glorified by the Spartans, who take no prisoners and show no mercy. Heads literally roll, blood splatters, exotic animals are sliced and speared. Many, many soldiers on either side die gruesomely. If on-screen death and war -- even one so stylized and cartoonish at times -- is too disturbing a subject matter for your kids (or you!), this bloodfest isn't a safe bet. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

• Parents say (34)
• Kids say (108)

Based on 34 parent reviews

It's soooooo heavy handed

What's the story.

Adapting Frank Miller's graphic novel 300, Snyder takes a hyperstylized visual approach to depicting the famed Battle of Thermopylae, where King Leonidas ( Gerard Butler ) and his 300 elite personal guards defied their Oracle and the odds to wage war against Xerxes' huge, unrelenting Persian army. Faced with the choice of submitting to Xerxes (Brazilian Lost regular Rodrigo Santoro, rendered nearly unrecognizable in earrings and eye makeup) or waging war, Leonidas makes the only choice a warrior-king can: fight. Leonidas and his personal detachment, led by his captain (fine character actor Vincent Regan) and Dilios (David Wenham), discover that although they're grossly outnumbered, they can funnel the enemy into the Hot Gates (the literal translation of "Thermopylae"), a narrow pass where the Spartans' special-forces skills will crush wave after wave of the Persians. And, oh, how they crush. It's impressive and disarming to see the 300 delight in the "glory" of warfare. The Spartans, so drunk on warlust that they dismember, skewer, decapitate, and spear the enemy -- whether it's human, animal, or something in between -- are brave, but also a bit mad. What the Spartans want (unlike the Arcadians, a group of fellow Greeks that joins them) is not to survive but to "die a beautiful death" in battle.

Is It Any Good?

At times engrossing and at times laughably over-the-top, 300 is entertaining as an extended war sequence. However, the film falls short of reaching the revolutionary Matrix -like status that the film's creators claim. The whole segment in Xerxes' lair, with its hedonistic sensuality, smacks of stereotypical Orientalism, not to mention some of the grossly depicted Persian soldiers and the disfigured hunchback who plays a central role.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the Spartans' upbringing and values. Why are 7-year-olds forced to fight each other -- and adults?

Xerxes offers Leonidas what sounds like a sweet deal; why does the king, facing certain death, turn it down?

Movie Details

• In theaters : March 8, 2007
• On DVD or streaming : July 31, 2007
• Cast : David Wenham , Gerard Butler , Lena Headey
• Director : Zack Snyder
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Warner Bros.
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Run time : 117 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• MPAA explanation : graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity.
• Last updated : February 8, 2024

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300: Rise of an Empire review

Say what you will about Zack Snyder’s 300 – and there could be entire psychoanalytical studies written about that film – but you can’t deny that it was visually striking. Despite Snyder handing over the directorial reigns on the sequel to Noam Murro ( Smart People ) and contenting himself with co-writing and executive producer duties, that sharp visual style remains in the sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire . So too do many of the flaws that Snyder’s detractors are becoming familiar with.

Rise of an Empire takes place before, during, and after the events depicted in 2007’s 300. King Leonidas and his troops lay dead at Thermopylae, and the Persian army, led by King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) continues to threaten Greece with an overwhelming ground and sea force.  Chronologically though, the film starts 10 years earlier, when a Greek soldier named Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) kills the Persian king Darius, and inadvertently sets young Xerses on the road to vengeance.

The highlight of Rise of an Empire is the action.

While the story is somewhat convoluted, the highlight of Rise of an Empire is the action.

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Murro follows Snyder’s playbook, infusing scenes with a mixture of slow-mo and close ups in a single shot. During the bloody moments – and there are many – that slowdown effect is also used to over-accentuate the spray of blood, which often comes out like a geyser, making it borderline parody. It defuses any sense of horror the audience may be feeling from watching people butchered on screen with body parts flying everywhere, and allows them to cheer the brutality in what is essentially the middle part of an ongoing war. (Don’t be surprised to see a sequel, box-office permitting.)

Rise of an Empire is appropriately unapologetic in its violence, offering plenty of scenes of stylized carnage in keeping with its predecessor. The blood and guts approach is strengthened by a fitting soundtrack from Junkie XL that helps set the tone of the battles as equal parts epic and hopeless. The style isn’t for everyone, but those that aren’t dissuaded by a bit of the old ultra-violence will appreciate it here. When the film slows down and moves into the character-driven territory though, the flaws appear. 

Stapleton’s Themistocles is a much different character from Gerard Butler’s Spartan King. Leonidas was gregarious and larger than life, which fit with the general tone of the movie. All the Spartans carried a swagger that armored them where loin clothes apparently could not. It gave them all an identity, even when the action quickly swallowed them up.

[Themistocles] is the center of the film, and a hollow one at that.

Themistocles doesn’t have a character arc or any endearing quirks for the audience to cheer for. He begins as a one-dimensional warrior, and the film ends on the same note. You learn very little about him, nor will you care. There are even moments when the enemy repeatedly refers to Themistocles as a tactical genius thanks to the earlier battles in the film, but those same battles are generally as simple as the Greeks kill more Persians. As far as tactical genius goes, the character never earns that honor in the eyes of the audience. He is the center of the film, and a hollow one at that.

That lack of personality haunts the film throughout. The Greek soldiers under Themistocles match the Spartans ab for ab in looks, but they lack any spark personality, and are little more than background.

There is a meager attempt to introduce a father and son that have a nonsensical personal conflict and a forced emotional moment, before being promptly forgotten. Another Greek, Aesyklos (Hans Matheson), is equally forgotten after a film’s worth of irrelevance. He’s there so Themistocles has someone to unload exposition on, then he disappears. If you walk out of the theater knowing more than three or four of the characters’ names throughout the entire movie, consider yourself well ahead of the curve.

The exception to this is Eva Green’s Artemisia, a ruthless Greek-born naval commander that fights with Xerxes and the Persians. Green dominates each and every scene she is in, and has a far more interesting personal story to work with than anyone else in the film, beginning with her mistreatment at the hands of the Greeks that put her on the path to fighting them. Artemisia is a complex villain that you almost want to root for, and that complexity, paired with a solid performance from Green, makes her shine like a beacon.

Lack of personality haunts the film throughout

Part of the muted feel of the characters comes from the muted look of the film. Like its predecessor, Rise of an Empire was shot almost entirely against bluescreens before several layers of CGI were added to create the world around the performers. It gives the film an ethereal look, but it also creates a few issues.

The Spartans in 300 (and in the original comic) wore bright red capes because it created a sharp visual contrast that added color to a desaturated world. That isn’t the case in Rise of an Empire, and the bronze color scheme frequently overwhelms. Accentuated lighting further accentuates the visual style, with piercing rays of sunlight that stand out against the drab and largely colorless backgrounds, leaving entire armies silhouetted in darkness. This style needs a balance to attract the eye, and that’s missing in Rise of an Empire. It’s a drab and uniform look that is screaming for the barest flashes of color.

300: Rise of an Empire is at its best when the action dominates, but the rest of the film is hollow and cold, due mostly to a lack of character development and personality and an under developed visual style. Rise of an Empire feels like a copy of a flawed film, and those flaws are more apparent now than ever. 

(Images and video © Warner Bros Pictures )

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