300 (Widescreen Edition) takes a whole new turn on the story much like Spartacus. King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) of Sparta leads his army in a war against Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his army of Persians. 

Do you think this guy wears enough jewelry?

Spartans are trained in combat at a young age by sending them out into the wild to fend for themselves, wearing nothing but their underwear. At least I think it’s underwear. 

It’s interesting that Leonidas has his own pit of death to send unwanted Persians. It’s even bigger than the one on Army of Darkness. And that’s because, “This is Sparta!” Okay, I can go with that. 

The Ephors Leonidas visits are in serious need of acne wash. Either it hasn’t been invented yet, or they must ask the oracle first, which is always a beautiful woman. That’s how those mystics always seem to make any of their decisions. The bad guys pay them off so they could get a new oracle every day. Considering that the oracles keep dying whenever they’re used. 

Leonidas wants to go to war against the Persians, but the wise men insist that he shouldn’t. Leonidas is clever to mention that he’s merely taking a stroll with his 300 bodyguards. I know it sounds like a bit extreme, but he is the king. Among Leonidas’s loyal soldiers is a hunchback named Ephialtes (Andrew Tiernan), who wants to help out in battle. Unfortunately, Leonidas turns him down because he can’t hold his shield up properly. What a disappointment. It was enough for Ephialtes to serve Xerxes instead, and all he wanted to do was help. At least he got a pointy hat out of it. 

After awhile of traveling, the Spartan army’s luck begins to turn as a fierce storm takes out a faction of Persians because no fighting was required. But that’s not the end, only the beginning. The battles are fierce with a lot of slow and fast motion. Neither side shows any mercy. No prisoners. Nobody even gets to walk away from the battle. It’s kill or be killed, all the way. So many bodies, so little time. The battle becomes even more fearsome and creative as the Persian immortals reveal a demon-like presence. And let’s not forget that giant warrior. Now he’s a dangerous enemy, like a goblin on steroids. The Spartan army still has a long way to go before Xerxes himself. Can they stop him? 

This was a great movie based on the graphic novel. It has even lead to spoof titles like 305 and Meet The Spartans (Rated). What’s next? 300 Amazons? Now that would be interesting. 

One last item: At MegaCon 2010, there was a group of Cosplay characters dressed as a group of Spartan soldiers marching around and hooting. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any photos because they’re difficult to chase down.