the movieGOOMBA

300 stars relatively unknown talent (probably because they spent their entire budget on computer geniuses) to tell the epic story of three hundred Spartan warriors who battled against hundreds of thousands of Persian soldiers. Unlike what you'd expect, it isn't just a blood bath. After being threatened by Persian messengers with promises that Sparta will fall to the Persian empire, King Leonidas wanting to defend his country, but unable to declare a proper war. So instead, he goes for "a walk" and takes a small portion of his army with him.

Highly stylized, this film is sophisticated in its look and action delivery. The filmmakers slow down and speed up the movie frames to emphasize sword strokes, spear throws, and body movement. There's a rich, warm tint to the picture, and the entire movie is filmed in front a blue or green screen, creating a unique appearance. However, with all these cutting edge effects, the plot and character development take a backseat to all the excitement on screen.

Some of the triumphant speeches are over-acted, the Sparta verse Persia story was over simplified to the point of a Saturday morning cartoon, and I highly doubt that ancient Persians possed whords of orgy driven naked woman in a traveling tent, transvestite-looking princes, and monsterous, human-like creatures with shanks for arms. One of the flaws in this film was that everything was black and white, literally. Sparta was overly idealized and the enemy overly maleficent.