The Lincoln Log

-www.samchainsaw.de

A group of handsome, defined, well-built topless men wearing red capes around their shoulders and brown sandals tied up to their knees are standing before me. I sit and watch trapped in time and still as I observe every movement they make. Then all of a sudden, a bald man blocks my view as he holds a large bag of popcorn and plops down in the seat in front of me.

The movie, 300, is based on a novel by Frank Miller, and directed by Zack Snyder. The story evolves the historian people of Sparta, a city located in Southern Greece. The Spartans were known for being fierce, fearless and the strongest warriors. Sparta regarded themselves as the protector of all of Greece. A Spartan man’s main purpose in life was to serve his duty for Sparta. An honorable death for any Spartan man is dying in a worthy matched battle for the glory of war. Boys at age seven were taken from their homes and sent to the wilderness to survive and kill. They return at the age of 20 when they are welcomed back as men. Spartan kings were said to be descendants of Hercules themselves. Spartan women were head strong and held in high positions since they were the one who gave birth to real men.

300 reflected closely and stood true to the real history known about Sparta. They were not over-extravagant nor did they go too far from the story line. The movie was about the Battle of Thermopylae, where King Leonadis, played by Gerard Butler, took 300 of Sparta’s finest warriors and challenged a much larger and modernized Persian army. The 300 men were equipped through digital backlot by using blue screens making the movie feel and seem more realistic and visual.

Scenes were dramatically different from any modern day movie because it seemed very detailed down to the last rock. The fighting caught you in your seat as it showed the strength behind every swift sword and drop of every blood. It engraved these complex yet simple images into your head. It was almost as if I felt the pain and I was traveling back into history and was standing right in front of the slaughtering.

The acting I must say expressed me. It made me believe they were the actual King Leonardis, Queen Gorgo and those glorious warriors. To play a crowd of Spartans where emotions were there but wasn’t allowed to be display was hard. It made me believe what was going on. 300 was a definite success and a top rated movie in box offices. It is a film that shows you the real person behind the Spartan warriors and the love they felt but weren’t allowed to share. Though the ending was kind of iffy, I admit, the action scenes, which made up 90 percent of the movie, completely made up for it. Overall, I’d recommend this movie to anyone who just loves becoming thrilled and sitting on the edge of their seats. I give 300 four out of five stars.