Review: 300 HD-DVD

Review: 300 HD-DVD


Gearcritech.com


July 20, 2007



by Wreckk



Comics are by far the hottest property in Hollywood right now, with out question. Unfortunately all Comic-to-Film adaptations are not created equal. We’ve had some great films that kicked off the trend like the first 2 Spider-Man and X-Men films, Batman Begins etc… But the mold was truly broken when Robert Rodriguez decided to take on the highly acclaimed Frank Miller comic (only noobs say Graphic Novel) Sin City and quite literally recreate what you saw on the page directly to the screen. This was the first time a Film not only truly looked like the comic but followed the story almost to the letter. This inspired Zack Snyder to do the same with yet another Frank Miller comic. This time we have the critically acclaimed 300. It rocked the box office and now is ready to slash into your DVD, HD-DVD and Blu Ray players…

THIS IS A REVIIIIIIIIIEW!!!!

Film and Features
This is the story of 300 Spartans who took on the entire Persian empire. 300 based on the comic book by Frank Miller tells the epic story of Battle of Thermopylae with some (well maybe lots) of artistic liberty taken. We follow King Leonidas and his troops as they try to protect their beloved Sparta against King Xerxes and his army of over one million soldiers.

This HD-DVD title is packed to the gills with features. The disc features all of the standard behind the scene featurettes we’ve come to love and expect. HD-DVD owners get a special treat, there is special HD-DVD content that is pretty amazing. There’s an excellent Picture-in-Picture Commentary with Zack Snyder that shows the original film along side the Bluescreen version sans effects in the lower left corner. A surprisingly well done strategy game “Vengance and Valor” better then nearly any other interactive DVD game I’ve seen before. Lastly there is “Web-Enabled” content for your mobile phone.

Many people think the writing is on the wall for HD-DVD but with special HD-DVD only content like this I feel like the format still has a fighting chance.
- Rating: 5 out of 5

Tech Specs
Technically we have another HD-DVD reference quality disc on our hands. I mean it’s simply breathtaking, films like this is why we have next gen HD formats. 300 is highly stylized with things like noise, high contrast ratios and under saturated color pallets though out. We can say with total confidence that all are reproduced perfectly.

This sucker also sounds AMAZING. when I said reference quality disc, I wasn’t kidding. The dialog, the metal clang of sword and shield and Leonidas’s battle cries are all bone chillingly reproduced. The score is no slouch either, it’s crisp and booming. 300 is a nice workout for your home theater.
- Rating: 5 out of 5

Overall Review
This is a must buy for any HD-DVD owner hands down. The extras are plentiful, the quality is perfect and the film while not for all is enthralling to say the least. You will be doing yourself a disservice if you skip this one.

Gerard Butler is king and Zack Snyder has our full endorsement for his next comic to film adaptation Alan Moore’s The Watchmen.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5



http://www.gearcritech.com/index.php/2007/07/20/review-300-hd-dvd.php