Spartans Rule!

300. What to say about this movie? I had heard a lot about it, from how good the movie's been made to all the controversy surrounding the Persians portrayal in the movie. On the making of the movie which I had seen on HBO, it seemed like a lot of CGI was in use, coz all the time the actors were in front of a blue or green screen while filming the movie. To me, it seemed to be a mix between Gladiator, Troy and Sin City. So, I went to see the movie with not much expectation.

300 has two releases, the regular release at regular theatres and "The Imax Experience" in the Imax theatres. Of course, when it comes to such a digitally acclaimed movie which had special release just for Imax, then it doesn't make sense going to regular theatre right? We went to the nearest Imax on Saturday to see the 1230am show. However, we had to opt for another movie since it was sold out. Now that really intrigued me! 1230 show in the night all sold out?? If you've ever been to theatres in US, you'll understand my surprise. It's very rare that a movie is sold out and even rarer to see a crowded theatre. So anyway, we went instead for Premonition - its better I say nothing about that movie! We also booked tickets for the next day's 730pm show for 300.

Imax theatres always amazes me - the huge screen does take your breath away. I felt excited to watch the movie even as I sat on my seat. We were an hour early for the show but still we didn't get the back seats. Yeah, it had already become that crowded!

The movie is based on a graphic novel which is based on the famous tale of the Battle of Thermopylae that has been the inspiration of many Hollywood movies. It tells the story of how a Spartan king Leonidas with the help of his strong 300 men stand against the Persian ruler Xerxes and his huge army. The movie turned out to be all what I expected and a bit more. It had all the blood, gore and brutality that I had expected. But it has been made in a way to grasp your attention from start to finish. Leonidas is bold, filled with raw power while Xerxes with all his jewelries and make-up look chillingly cold. The Spartan men look amazingly toned and muscular and their skimpy costumes don't try much to hide it. Of course, as with many other movies, this too has unnecessary nudity to some extent.

The look of the movie is everything. It is a visual masterpiece, grandiose and breathtakingly beautiful. There are a numerous action sequences but each one turns out to be quite refreshing and not a boring repeat of the other - with the introduction of new monsters every time and awesomely cool flicks of the swords and spears to get done with them.

Do not watch the movie looking for story, message or performance. 300 is a visual experience with images meant to embed themselves into your memory from the start to the finish.