On Friday, March Ninth, a graphic novel comes alive and hits the big screen: Frank Miller’s 300. If you didn’t know I am a big comic book and graphic novel buff. My tastes lean more toward Marvel flagship comics like X-men, Avengers, Spiderman, and the Fantastic Four, but I could never ignore the work of industry greats like Warren Ellis, Neil Gaiman, Christopher Priest, Alan Moore and, of course, Frank Miller.
The 300 tells the story of the 300 Spartans who fought at the Battle of Thermopylae, in 480 B.C., against the 2 million strong, maybe it was 2 thousand those kinds of facts tend to get lost in epic legends, Persian army of King Xerxes. Now, I haven’t read any reviews because I don’t want to spoil things when I go see the movie on Friday. I have seen the trailers and I am impressed beyond belief.
The trailers bleed color. The film seems over saturated with color so that you feel as if you could reach out and touch the reds and golds. The movie seems to be filmed in a similar fashion to another great Frank Miller graphic novel, Sin City. Hyper kinetic action and scenes so stylized they seem to be torn from the pages of Miller’s graphic novel.
I’ll include the trailer above just in case you’ve somehow missed it.
Tell me that trailer isn’t motivation to see this movie! It’s like a Summer Blockbuster that slipped through the cracks to be released in spring. And its got everything a summer blockbuster needs to kick ass:
Blood and Gore? Check.
Madness and Mayhem? Check.
Frenetic Violence and Bombastic Boasts? Check.
Slobbering Beasties and Voluptuous Vixens? Check.
Chunky ab muscles and rippling butt cheeks strapped into kinky loin cloths? Check.
Okay, Summer Blockbusters usually don’t have that last one, but they should, and so 300 does the usual summer blockbuster one better!
The masculinity comes across so strong from the trailer that it practically seeps off the screen like some kind of ultra butch Cologne. The male form just doesn’t get objectified in American films as much as the female form. Not since Conan has a film so lovingly detailed the male form in such sharp relief. Watch as they Spartans stride across the screen flexing, working, and grunting, all sweaty and dirty, as they fight off the evil Persians, pressed back to back, revealing so much bare flesh that I’m surprised this movie isn’t rated R-The R standing for Really, this isn’t gay porn?
Now, if that isn’t a ringing endorsement for a film then I have no idea what is. Go see the 300!
I’m a blogger, writer, and teacher. I’ve been working in South Korea’s ESL field for the last three years. My one year contract has unexpectedly turned into a journey that I’m still on and loving.
