300 Trailer Impressions

300 Trailer Impressions

September 21, 2006

Screenhead.com

Richard Pulfer


Finally, after countless video blogs of uninspiring green-screen, a trailer has been posted for Zack Snyder's adaptation of Frank Miller's "300".

And it looks good.

The digital quality reminds me of another comic-helmed movie - Dave McKean's "MirrorMask" - only while McKean's CGI gave the impression of an otherworld, Snyder depicts the ancient world in all its brutal glory. There are certainly touches of Frank "Sin City" Miller throughout the trailer - nothing is held back, and "300" is far more visually distinctive than previous accounts of the Battle of Thermopylae.

At first viewing, I was a bit turned off by Gerard Butler's depiction of Leonidas. Butler has sort of a mixed track record in my eyes. I didn't like him so much in "Dracula 2000" or "Tomb Raider 2", but I was very impressed with his performance (but not his singing) in Joel Schumacher's "Phantom of the Opera". There's frankly a lot of yelling involved in the role of Leonidas, the fierce and strong Spartan leader.

But its not delivery which makes Butler work as Leonidas, but instead, his expression. He is extremely capable of showing conflict and sadness behind a beard and sometimes even a full Spartan helmet, all with his eyes. Still, I hope his performance doesn't go too over-the-top - his shouting was getting a bit old by the end of the trailer.

Despite this, "300" does look like something worth yelling about when it is released March 9th.


http://www.screenhead.com/reviews/300-trailer-impressions.html