Saturday, March 8, 2014

300: Rise of an Empire (IMAX 3D)

It's been years since I've watched the original movie so forgive me if I mess up any information.

300: Rise of an Empire is one of those movies that I wasn't too sure about. From the trailers it looked decent enough. And I liked the original. But trailers as you know can be misleading. However, since it was the only decent movie coming out this week I decided to give it a chance. I'm glad I did since it actually ended up being a decent movie.

The movie is interesting in the sense that it's not really a sequel . It's more of a prequel as well as a midquel (most of the events take place at the same time as 300). It's not until near the end that it becomes an actual sequel. It was interesting they went that route.

The story features some of the original cast as well as new characters. It's basic premise is a Greek general named Themistakles (played by Australian actor Sullivan Stapleton) leads forces against a Persian invasion, which is technically being lead by a man turned god Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). However, the real mastermind behind the invasion is a woman named Artemisa (Eva Green) who has her own reason for seeking revenge against the Greeks. Queen Gorgo (played once again by the great Lena Headey) appears as well, although her role is fairly small (but still important).

The movie is directed by Noam Murro. Zack Snyder (who directed 300) was originally suppose to direct but he was too busy working on Man of Steel. He still served as a producer though. It certainly felt like one of his films with all the ridiculous slow mo and over the top CGI blood.But I came into this movie expecting that.

I thought the battle sequences were well done, even if they were silly for the most part. I enjoyed seeing them played out. I really liked how most of the fighting too place on the water too. It looked awesome considering the movie was pretty much shot using green screen.

Speaking of visuals, I highly recommend seeing this in IMAX 3D. The whole movie really benefits from an IMAX screen. You really feel like you're in some of those battles. The 3D was surprisingly good.

I almost forgot to mention the acting. Not that anyone is going to win any awards for these performances, but I thought they all did a good job considering the kind of movie this is. I especially loved Eva Green in this. She was a total bad ass. I'd love to see her do more of these kinds of roles.

The only thing that's keeping me from giving this movie a higher rating is the sex scene. It was just so awkward and dumb. Several people in the theater, myself included, were laughing as it played out. I don't understand what the point of it was. To show off Eva Green's boobs maybe? Who knows.

Despite this, Rise of an Empire was a decent movie. It's visually stunning. It's over the top. But damn if I didn't have a great time watching. Is it as "good" as 300? Probably not. But it comes close.

My Rating: 7.5/10

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