300: Rise of an Empire

Another great action movie full of awesome effects and especially slow-motion shots. I didn't mind that it’s been done before, because I like this type of movies, but there are quite a few flaws. Most importantly, the main characters in the two movies lack consistency, and there are virtually no memorable moments that I wouldn’t forget in a week. Don’t even get me started on historical accuracy or logic in the movie (a bunch of poets and sculptors, as they described themselves in one of the battles, can defeat an elite Persian army ...). The laws of gravity also don’t seem to fully apply here (exemplified by a digital horse as if straight out of “Assassin's Creed”). I might give it another watch some day, when I feel like some mindless entertainment. But I still prefer the first installment. (21/08/2014)

Hectolitres of digital/artificial blood, tons of slow motion shots, a woman's breast from time to time, a bunch of half-naked guys, a WTF shot here and there - this and more sort of summarizes the second 300, which is in many ways similar, if not the same as the first one. Halfway through the film I thought it was really boring, but fortunately it all picks up somewhat in the second half, so this film deserves the three stars I gave it. Of the cast, I was most impressed by Eva Green, whose villain role fit her like a glove. In short, a film that takes a special approach to appreciate, I enjoyed the many visual effects and had a satisfying soundtrack playing in my ears. (12/04/2014)

I was thinking, why does it make sense to continue something that is closed and stands perfectly on its own? The intentions are obviously purely commercial, which is evident in the story itself, which forcibly tries to fit into the events of the first film and succeeds in avoiding most of the characters from the first film. It doesn't change the fact that it's just flashy masturbation over the modern concept of action, which is indeed brutal, but that's still not enough, right? Some percentage for a naked Eva Green. That view is worth it. (17/08/2014)

Compared to the first one, there is more emphasis on the story, the exteriors are more varied and the "red" action at times tries to give the impression of real battle strategy, which I consider a good step in contrast to the monotonous chopping and endless slow-motion of Snyder (although this one has too much slow-motion, too). However, the only thing that elevates this cool, visually messy parade of abs and heroic platitudes slightly above the level of the first one is the head-cutting, eye-murdering, hard-fucking but outrageously attractive and sexy Eva Green, who endows her role with such charisma that Leonidas would quickly stick his head in the sand in front of her. For her sake, I not only throw in an extra star, but even declare the second 300 a very, very enjoyable and exciting waste of time. 55% (22/03/2014)

In some ways worse, in some ways better than the first film, but in the end still a good show. The protagonist may not be as charismatic as Leonidas, but he is interestingly portrayed as a sophisticated strategist who also makes mistakes. I liked the fights and battle scenes perhaps more than in 300, especially the opening one in the storm with slow motion lightning was breathtaking, Eva Green played the very erratic wild woman excellently and the whole thing went by pleasantly. Frank Miller's comic hasn't been published in Czech yet, so unlike the previous film, we don't have a chance to compare how much the writers, director and designers were inspired by it, but I liked the fact that the film didn't feel like a repetition of what had worked before, but came up with a number of new things. (19/07/2015)