300: Rise of an Empire

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)

A highly spectacular, comic-book-like bloody football match with an irresistible animalistic sex scene at half-time (which turned me on) and a subsequent poetic statement in the climax (which brought me to my knees). Praise goes to the film’s creators for the opulent conception of a sequel as a massive tune-up of the first instalment, which now seems modest in comparison. (03/04/2014)

The only compelling reason not to completely ignore the sequel to 300 is, of course, Eva Green. Regarding the comic "Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander," the latter was not released until 4 years after the 2nd film and 20 years after the first "300" comic book album, so this is how the work became very dated and falls into that phase of Frank Miller's work that even the most loyal fans no longer want to discuss. (28/12/2019)

If it weren’t for Eva Green, there would barely be a third of the movie. Her charm has breathed life into this adaptation which is far more like a comic book movie than the first 300. It all stands or falls on whether she appears on the screen. Anyways, I was sort of sick and tired of this comic book feel. The first 300 was stylish and raw. But I’d compare this one to Sin City. Everything is purposely fake and wannabe cool. I’m not saying that it was disappointing, I’m really not. But it practically has just a single ace up its sleeve – Eva Green. Everything else is awfully fleeting. (10/07/2015)

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)