Even if you are not familiar with Frank Miller's graphic novel "300," but is a fan of the movie "Sin City," you ought to be excited about the forthcoming adaptation of that novel. I know I was after watching the awesome teaser clip. If the finished movie is anything like what's promised in this teaser, it's going to be an amazing piece of work.

To give a little background, "300" is a retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae where 300 Spartans led by King Leonidas caused heavy casualties to the invading Persian army before being ultimately overwhelmed by their superior numbers.

Stylistically, the movie has a lot in common with "Sin City" and Zhang Yimou's "Hero." It has "Sin City"'s comic book looks and "Hero"'s use of bright, accenting colors. A lot of the scenes are either in slow motion like much of the battle sequences or sped up like when someone draws a sword.


Behind the (blue screen) scenes of "300" -- click for more images!


The teaser begins with a group of Spartans huddled together facing an angry sea, their bright red capes in stark contrast to their dark surroundings. Then we get a voice over telling us how since birth, every newborn is inspected for deformities and if they're found wanting, they are killed. Those that pass the test are trained very early on to be the ultimate warriors.

The voice over is played during the scenes of the birth of a baby. Then we see a baby being held over a cliff with many skulls at the bottom, the fate of those deemed to be imperfect. We then see scenes of a boy plunging a spear through a large savage wolf with glowing red eyes. Then to a scene of a soldier kneeling to, I assume, his commander or king.

When it comes to the battle scenes, it is indeed graphic. When a soldier plunges his spear into a Persian soldier, blood spurts out in slow motion out of his body. A severed head belonging to another Persian soldier flies into the air with the expression of his doom etched on his face. There is a scene where the Persian army launches hundreds of arrows darkening the sky ala "Hero." It looks like the Persian army has a couple of monsters in ranks.



Taken from the pages of Frank Miller's "300" graphic novel


Nudity. Yeah, we get to see a couple of those scenes too.

Both Frank Miller and director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) assure those in attendance that the movie won't be toned down or have its edges round off for general consumption. From what I saw, I believed them.

Author: Binh Ngo, RottenTomatoes.com