Film Review: 300

Zack Snyder's beautiful and brutal 300 solidifies the emergence of a new film genre: the graphic novel movie. The genre, which includes V for Vendetta and From Hell, is completely different from the less stylized, dialogue-heavy comic book movie-as any fanboy will eagerly explain.

Based on Frank Miller's innovative graphic novel (see review), 300 fictionalizes the Battle of Thermopylae-where 300 Spartans and 6,000 other Greeks were outnumbered more than 30 to one by the Persian army. The rough and tough Spartans are led by King Leonidas played by Phantom of the Opera's Gerard Butler.

While Leonidas holds off self-proclaimed god-king Xerxes' (Dominic Santoro) army, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) maneuvers a political war at home against the conniving councilman Theron (Dominic West).

Snyder's (Dawn of the Dead) bombastic tale is visually stunning. Although the characters appear animated, they feel larger than life. Red capes swirl as spears thrust into the chests of masked Persian warriors in a display of barbaric poetry.

Coincidentally, 300 is a conservative's wet dream. The sometimes annoying dialogue-which appears to be stuck in inspiring monologue mode-constantly evokes freedom. Pretty soon what it means to fight as a Spartan melds with what is means to fight as an American. Replace the "Haroo!" crying soldiers' crimson capes and spears for camouflage and assault rifles, and you have a Marine recruitment video.

Despite political undertones, the film is never abrasive and always entertaining. The chest-pumping soundtrack-classical Arabic/Mediterranean beats mixed with heavy synth-preps the audience for war. 300 also manages to keep the attention on the action by not distracting viewers with well-known actors-the closest celebrity is Mark Wahlberg-look-a-like West. Butler's acting, which falls between a stoic Russell Crowe and psychotic Mel Gibson, sometimes teeters dangerously close to comically melodramatic, but manages to fill out Leonidas' grand persona.

The slick style and artistic frames provoke obvious comparisons to director Robert Rodriguez's other Frank Miller-novel-turned-film, Sin City. However, more impressive than the visuals, Snyder, unlike Rodriguez, is brave enough to deviate. Although some shots are directly snatched straight from the book, Snyder blends in his own vision to bring Miller's panels to life, resulting in original and breathtaking sequences.