Sparta's King Leonidas (Butler) rejects a treaty with the Persian King Xerxes (Santoro), which would essentially make the Spartans slaves. But his political opponent Theron (West) undermines his efforts to take on the million-man Persian army, so Leonidas must face them at the cliffs of Thermopylae with only 300 of his fiercest warriors. Meanwhile, his wife Gorgo (Headey) tries to take on Theron back home. And Leonidas' loyal soldier Dilios (Wenham) returns with news from the front.

The full-bodied story is powerful, with an epic scope and strongly relevant subtext. Each character is a bundle of complexity and contradictions; the heroes are just as vicious as the villains when it comes to violent carnage. And the political plotting and counterplotting is fascinating. Alas, all of this is completely overwhelmed by the high-octane filmmaking style, jingoistic dialog and over-the-top characterisations.

While very good, Butler plays every scene full-power, bellowing his dialog and flexing his oiled muscles manfully while brandishing an enormous sword (the men wear capes and briefs, and not much else). With a slight whiff of irony or wit, the film would have rather delicious camp value. But it's so deeply serious that we're worn out within the first 15 minutes. Other characters fare better, most notably Wenham's ardent warrior and the fearless young men played by Wisdom and Fassbender. On the other hand, Headey's role seems like a feeble attempt to wedge in a female angle.

Fans of videogame sensibilities will love this movie, which progresses through a series of increasingly hellish challenges with some of the most eye-popping imagery ever put on screen. Like Kerry Conran's underrated Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Snyder filmed completely in front of green screens. The result is visually amazing, packed with outrageous battles and whizzy camera effects (lots of speeding up, slowing down and freezing frames). But while the script attempts to be deep and meaningful, it's actually thoroughly superficial.

themes, strong violence, sexuality

15.Feb.07