300: Rise of an Empire (Blu-ray)

A heap of bodies only partially explains the seven-year wait for a follow to 300, Zack Snyder’s ancient Greek affair in which Gerard Butler and 299 beefcake bros nakedly took on multitudinous Persians with only their swords and sweat. Butler’s Spartan King Leonidas and his men achieved “a beautiful victory” — not to mention great box office — but sadly lost their heads. A prequel seemed the obvious path, but then Butler went sitcom soft and Snyder opted for stories of super dudes in leotards. So the mere existence of 300: Rise of an Empire is worthy of note, especially the inventive means by which the story has been advanced. Neither prequel nor sequel (maybe we should call it equal), it looks at the other Greeks versus Persians clash that was happening around the same ancient time as 300’s Battle of Thermopylae. As any history book (or Google) will tell you, this is the aquatic skirmish on the Aegean Sea. The Greeks are once against vastly outnumbered by invading Persians, and here we meet the secret weapon of Rise of an Empire: women. This highly stylized account, drawn as before from a graphic novel by Frank Miller but under the direction this time of Israel’s Noam Murro, has a vibrant lead in Eva Green, best known as Bond girl Vesper Lynd from Casino Royale. As Artemisia, commander of the Persian navy, she dresses Goth but acts Amazon. To say she takes no prisoners is like saying Godzilla doesn’t have a calling card. Presented with an unworthy male, she summarily beheads him, theatrically kisses the severed noggin and then flings it contemptuously away. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, especially one packing two lethal blades. And although Artemisia is of Greek blood, she’s seeking payback against her countrymen for the raping and pillaging visited upon her family and town in her childhood, and for the killing of Persian King Darius (Igal Naor), the man who rescued her and trained her as a warrior. Darius took a fatal arrow fired by the Greek warrior Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton), an event so important to the movie, Murro shows us the flashback twice, in case we missed the point. (Snyder and his 300 co-writer Kurt Johnstad penned the screenplay.) As fate would have it, Themistokles now leads the Greek naval resistance against Persia, and Artemisia aims to seduce, corrupt and kill him, not necessarily in that order. And she’s great, giving Rise of an Empire some badly needed energy beyond the endless grunting and sepia-toned blood-spilling of the rest of the picture, which does manage to make good use of widescreen 3D. Heads split, breasts bulge, bodies slam and ships collide with authority. The estrogen-enriched production also includes the return of Game of Thrones’ Lena Headey as Spartan Queen Gorgo, aggrieved widow of Leonidas, who also swings a mean knife but gets considerably less screen time than Green. Together they help make up for the absence of Butler, who is seen only in flashback, and for Stapleton’s serviceable yet unmemorable portrayal of the top Greek seaman. Making even less of an impression, apart from a sartorial one, is Rodrigo Santoro as returning god-man Xerxes, the heavily pierced peacock who watches the action mainly from the sidelines while Artemisia does the heavy lifting. We do get to see how he became a god while visiting a spa, but it inspires snickers rather than shudders. None of the men in Rise of an Empire are a match for Artemisia’s tongue, which is sharper than her twin blades. Given the choice between hearing her withering assessment of your sexual prowess, or having her shove a sword into your guts, you might just go for the sword. Ouch!

Fun watch

I enjoyed the video. It was not as good as the first, however, it was a nice sequel. I would recommend people watch thee 330 movie first and then the sequel. I hope they have another movie......Great war scenes.......thanks to taking some liberties on real world action....although, entertaining.....and good special effects..... Did Artemisia really have a hunger for warfare? Yes. Herodotus, also known as the "Father of History," makes numerous references to Artemisia as he recounts the events of the Greco-Persian war. He describes her as a ruler who did not lead passively, and instead, actively engaged herself in both adventure and warfare. "…her brave spirit and manly daring sent her forth to the war, when no need required her to adventure. Her name, as I said, was Artemisia..." -The Histories Was Artemisia really known for her cunning tactics and intelligence in combat? Yes. In exploring the 300: Rise of an Empire true story, we came upon the works of Polyaenus, the 2nd century Macedonian writer. He describes an example of the real Artemisia's intelligence in combat. He tells of how she would carry two flags on board her ship, one a Persian flag and the other the flag of her enemy, Greece. Artemisia would fly the Greek flag as she approached an unsuspecting Greek warship. Once she was upon her enemy, she would then unleash the full force of her Carian fleet. Were the Greeks really angered that a woman had taken up arms against them? Yes. According to Herodotus, the united Greeks even offered a reward of 10,000 drachmas for Artemisia's capture. Was Themistocles really responsible for Greek's strong navy? Yes. Themistocles always believed in building up the Athenian navy. After his political obstacle in the form of his rival Aristides had been voted into exile, Themistocles got his wish for a stronger navy. Knowing that a Persian invasion was imminent, the Athenians voted to build even more ships than Themistocles requested, leaving Athens with the most dominant naval force in all of Greece. http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/300-rise-of-an-empire/ Watch it! If you don't enjoy it...let me know....Happy viewing!

Especially playing 300 on a laser 3d capable projector, on a 120 screen, the movies simply sinks me in, in every adventurous scene. Cinematography, acting and dialogue, blended together, I can't help but being pulled in on the story full of heroism, love of family, comrades and country. I don't how many times I've watched this in 3d, had this for a year now and still can't get enough of it. Highly recommended, it's earned 5 stars plus 1 if possible.

Film molto bello. Non è il seguito del film. Ovvero lo è anche, ma è anche la storia di quello che succede durante il primo 300. Vedete è capirete. A me è piaciuto molto. È vero però che c'è molto più sangue che nel primo. Gli effetti speciali ci sono ma non esiste nemneno l'ombra di un vero effetto pop out in confronto ad altri blu ray 3D che ho. È accettabile sia la profondità che il nero. Il 3D pop out è accettabile ma gli effetti sono sbiaditi e non ce la fa fanno a esplodere limpidi fino davanti ai vostri occhi. Quando ad esempio spruzza il sangue si vedono delle macchie sbiadite molto timide che si fermano e non escono fino a morire davanti ai vostri occhi. Per me il vero 3D è altro ed è il pop out. Qui non esiste o c'è ma è molto timido e offuscato. Per il resto buon film che consiglio soprattutto se avete visto il primo 300. Consiglio la visione dei più piccoli con un pubblico adulto o addirittura ne sconsiglio la visione per le troppe scene di sangue, teste e braccia mozzate. Sicuramente ci sarà un seguito. Consegna nei tempi. Buona visione.

J'aimerais plus de films comme ça

worth getting on bluray high quality video and audio...a good prequel and sequel to 300 movie...well made action sequence and movie historical sets..the bluray has good behind the scenes feature...

Edición alemana en perfecto castellano y un STEELBOOK muy bonito .