Kevin's Watch

Want to think of 300 as a great movie? Try watching either Wrath of the Titans or Immortals.

I saw Wrath in the theatre a few nights ago. I was pleasantly surprised, as it was much better than I expected... Still, that only means it was distinctly average.

Having heard that Immortals was a better film, I grabbed it from Redbox last night... and went to bed in the middle of it because I was bored. Not good for an action movie.

Neither one is a very good movie, but they made me appreciate how good Zach Snyder is at stylizing violence. Say what you will about the man, he knows how to make an entertaining movie; something that Jonathan Liebesman and Tarsem Singh, the directors of Wrath and Immortals, seem incapable of.

Hashi Lebwohl wrote:I have been moderately impressed with Zack Snyder's work...but I rate Timur Bekmambetov as a far better director and visual effects producer.

Had to look him up... I enjoyed Nightwatch / Daywatch, but I'm seriously put off by him making Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

What I hated about 300 so much was Nebuchadnezzar as 7 feet tall in a golden Speedo with multiple body piercings. I know just enough about the ancient Medo-Persians to be deeply offended, and not a little creeped out.

There was no excuse for 300 to be a suckfest. A great cast and obviously a lot of money went into it. But yes, the stylized fighting was rather interesting. Although not enough to overbalance the stylized love scene.

deer of the dawn wrote:What I hated about 300 so much was Nebuchadnezzar as 7 feet tall in a golden Speedo with multiple body piercings. I know just enough about the ancient Medo-Persians to be deeply offended, and not a little creeped out.

You can't blame that on Snyder, though... that's like being offended at Peter Jackson because hobbits are all four feet tall and obese. What I like about Snyder is how he managed to translate the still images from Frank Miller's comic book into a film in an enjoyable way.

deer of the dawn wrote:Nebuchadnezzar

Did you mean Xerxes?

Miller made him that way to show us, the readers/viewers, how much more powerful Xerxes was than Leonidas. Artistic license and all that jazz.

Hashi Lebwohl wrote:

deer of the dawn wrote:Nebuchadnezzar

Did you mean Xerxes?
.

His look and the Queen's acting were the only two things I liked about the film far as i can recall now.

Vraith wrote:

Hashi Lebwohl wrote:

deer of the dawn wrote:Nebuchadnezzar

Did you mean Xerxes?
.

His look and the Queen's acting were the only two things I liked about the film far as i can recall now.

Oops, like I said I know "just enough". But still, Xerxes had his personal problems but shouldn't have been quite so repulsive.

Miller made him that way to show us, the readers/viewers, how much more powerful Xerxes was than Leonidas. Artistic license and all that jazz.

Way too obvious and overstated. Not impressed.

And yes, Lena Headey helped give the film what little dignity it had. And David Wenham. I normally like Gerard Butler but he was just okay in this film.