Posts Tagged ‘Frank Miller’
2 items.
It’s hard to say if I’ll get in trouble for this joke or not. The last time I made jokes with a homosexual connotation, some of you weren’t very happy about it. Of course, I was contrasting it against Jesus Christ and Superman. So maybe that’s what put it over the top.
I know it seems a little outlandish that I would assume that the producers of 300 were courting the homosexual male demographic. In all truth, I have nothing to support the claim except for small article I came across at Hollywood Elsewhere weeks ago. Actually, the original observation was made by Variety critic Todd McCarthy and I don’t know if it’s really picked up any steam elsewhere. But I felt it was an interesting, if somewhat comical observation that might rankle the comic book faithful. So I thought it was fertile territory for comedy. I may be a comic book geek myself, but it doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to have fun!
In regards to 300, I was originally kind of neutral to the idea. I saw the trailers and thought to myself “Oh, that looks cool. But didn’t Sin City mine this territory a few years ago?” Obviously 300 wouldn’t have been made without the success of Sin City paving the way. So I don’t fault Hollywood for returning to the well and adapting more of Frank Miller’s vision to the big screen. I’m sure for most producers, it looks like a pretty sweet deal. Use Frank’s comics as the storyboards, shoot the whole thing on a green screen in 28 days, toss it over to an effects house and wait a few months for the money to roll in.
Still, for the most part, it looked like director Zack Snyder was reheating Sin City director Robert Rodriguez’s sloppy seconds.
But as time goes by and I absorb more and more of the television commercials, I’m starting to warm up to the idea of 300. The Nine Inch Nails song that plays over the commercials that used to annoy me now invigerates me. Whereas I used to snicker at Gerard Butler’s ridiculous beard, I now think he looks pretty bad ass. I mean, this was the guy who played the Phantom in the big-screen adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera? Okay! Impressive!
Of course, I can’t get too excited about it. Obviously, since we’ve had Henry, that limits our free time for going to the theater. Cami and I have our 7th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks and I’m sure we’ll be able to get out of the house for a few hours then. My parents can watch Henry. But I doubt I can talk her into seeing 300. I’ll have to wait for video.
That said, I feel a little behind the curve when it comes to the hype surrounding 300. The commercials are making some pretty bold claims about how visually arresting it is and how it’s “the best movie in 10 years!” (I swear I saw that one somewhere.) So I put it to you guys – How excited are you for this movie? How long have you been anticipating it? Do you think it will live up to the hype? And – more importantly – do you think that is director Zack Snyder cand maintain faithfulness to Miller’s original graphic novel what will that mean for his interpretation of the long-awaited film version of Watchmen?
Leave your comments below!
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Jul31
In early spring, a movie was unleashed upon the American public that unexpectedly spawned a dozen quotable catchphrases and launched a thousand internet parodies. It went on to make over $210 million at the box office, shocking industry analysts with it’s shocking violence, beautifully choreographed fight sequences and wide audience appeal.
That movie was 300 and I was on the sidelines for the whole thing.
Just as the hype surrounding the film was beginning to build, we brought our first child Henry into the world. It didn’t really fit within my priorities at the time to saunter off and wallow in a swords and sandals splatter fest while Cami was home changing diapers.
But I was able to get my hands on an advance copy of the film – out on DVD today – and this is my review.
By now you’re probably familiar with the battle of Thermopylae between 300 Spartans and the invading Persian army. The film bases it’s story around these events, but never pretends for a minute that its historically accurate. Instead, it draws an immediate line between itself and Frank Miller’s graphic novel of the same name.
Several key frames from the graphic novel are recreated in loving, gory detail here. I used to think that a previous Frank Miller creation – Sin City – was the most faithful comic book to movie translation. It’s evident that directory Zach Snyder has studied the approach to Sin City and refined it in 300.
The action on screen is constantly engaging and Snyder makes sure to slow things down just enough for you to feel each slice of the blade as it drags across human flesh. Knives bury themselves deep in eye sockets and heads are lopped from torsos with regularity – they float in the air like a bride’s bouquet.
Despite the film’s love affair with gore and it’s unwillingness to shy away from any of it, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat detached from the proceedings. I don’t know if the film has possibly lost some of it’s impact being wedged onto the small screen, but what transpires feels very much like a video game. Blood splatters everywhere and seems to almost evaporate. I was surprised when slain Persians simply didn’t blink a few times in rapid succession before disappearing from the battlefield to make way for more Spartan slaughter. But it’s probably not best to worry about it too long.There is more carnage to be had!
For me, the success of the film rests squarely on the broad shoulders of it’s star Gerard Butler as King Leonidas. Much more than a pointy beard, some eyeliner and rippling pectorals, Butler attacks his dialogue with the corners of his mouth pulled down to the base of his neck in vein-popping earnestness. He carries himself confidently and projects strength at all times. Watching him, you’re convinced that this is a man that could rally soldiers to battle and prepare them for death and glory as if there were no greater reward. He’s a treat to watch because he takes all of it as seriously as a heart attack. In less literal hands, Leonidas could have come off as pompous or unreasonable.
Beyond Butler’s scene chewing, the narrative is delivered largely in voice over. The third person account lends a sort of historical reverence to the proceedings, but at the same time feels pat and lazy storytelling. Some political maneuvering is thrown into the background of the plot, but it does little to anchor itself to the action at the battle of Thermopylae. Ultimately, it’s the visuals that sell the movie. Shot almost entirely against a blue screen in Montreal in 60 days, one marvels at how it was all assembled to recreate the epic battle.
Not much is explained in terms of extras available on the full screen version of the DVD that I was provided with. Just a simple director’s commentary and that’s all. The widescreen edition doesn’t fare much better for extras, but the two-disc special edition contains more than 90 minutes of addition footage that delves into the “How’d they do that?” for a richer at home experience.
FX junkies looking for an unapologetic action film will find much to love in 300. Anyone looking for greater depth will probably have more luck watching The History Channel.
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