'300' at Berlinale, WonderCon

'300' at Berlinale, WonderCon


Bags and Boards



February 16, 2007



by Tom McClean



Reviews are starting to roll in on 300, which is not due in theaters for another three weeks, and they’re for the most part positive. Todd McCarthy’s Variety review starts like this:

The Spartans fight to the last manly man in "300," a blustery, bombastic, visually arresting account of the Battle of Thermopylae as channeled through the rabid imagination of graphic novelist Frank Miller. Rendered by director Zack Snyder in a manner very similar to last year's Miller adaptation "Sin City," except in full color, this is a steroid-fueled fever dream about self-realization through extreme violence. In the larger picture, the cartoonish history lesson inescapably describes a monumental East vs. West conflagration, which might be greeted with muted enthusiasm in the Middle East. Action addicts in general and carnivorous fanboys in particular will chow down on this bloody feast.

A latenight preem for fans was met with cheers from fanboys in the crowd, but there were detractors who said the film's take on history was simplistic. A report at Cinematical reports walkouts and boos for director Zack Snyder's credit at an earlier press screening. We haven't seen it yet, but comics-hip friends who have say the film delivers.

Attendees at WonderCon will get a chance to see the film a week early, with pre-registered three-day members and Friday-only members eligible to enter a draw for tickets to see the film March 2. There also will be an exclusive "300" panel at the show, which has made its programming schedule available online.





http://weblogs.variety.com/bags_and_boards/2007/02/300_at_berlinal.html