...as in „300 times better than gay porn”?
So at last the sweet day has come and I was able to witness 300 with my very eye.
And there was much joy.
I feel as if I just had a good dose of testosterone injected straight in my veins - I’m almost bursting with the “RRRRRaaaa!!” feeling
We went to the cinema in a jolly group of me, jigoku, Zeru and Gamet, whom I haven’t seen for like years and who was almost as enthusiastic about the film as me, so we had great fun acting like total 300 geeks, shouting the lines together with Leonidas (I defy anyone who does not want to shout the legendary “THIS IS SPARTA!!” with him ;P), searching for people to kick of the stairs and literally jumping on our seats all throughout the movie.
Gamet, it was an honor to fangirl by your side! ;)
But alas - though the movie filled me with fangirlish squee, it also disappointed me tremendously.
Somebody in the storyline team decided to use fabric softener on all the Spartans and turn them into a bunch of family loving fuzzy-wuzzies.
Frank Miller never intended to be true to history. Nor gravity laws, reality or political correctness. The only thing his 300 was true to was Symonides’ epitaph:
Go tell the Spartans, passerby:
That here by Spartan law we lie
The whole graphic novel was like an artistic impression based on those two verses.
The movie makers however thought that way of storytelling to laconic (sic!) and that it was a great idea to add some character development to make them “believable for today’s viewer”. So instead of marching “for honor’s sake, for glory’s sake”, the /developed/ Spartans marched “For our lands, for our families, for our freedoms.” - isn’t that touching? *makes a puking noise*
I now can understand the whole political uproar about hidden propaganda in 300, because the way they whitewashed the Spartans was just awful!
Miller didn’t hide that they were a bunch of war obsessed fanatics, brainwashed since early childhood. A perfect ant-like army, with no place for feelings or individuality. It was not the point to show the Spartan society as an example to be copied (unless you fancy building yourself a fourth Reich ;P). The point was showing men, who were true to their values till the very end - whatever they were.
But somehow in the movie, those values started to look strangely American-like, and all the bits showing a totalitarian character of Leonidas’ troops (like making fun of Athenians and their democracy) strangely disappeared from the script, replaced by pompous talks about “preservation of liberty” (it’s almost funny to hear those lines from people living in a police state…)
The reviewers complimenting 300 for being faithful to the GN must have been illiterate and just watched the pictures without reading it. Sure - it was impressive to see the exact frames from the comics copied into the movie, but not at the cost of completely altering the message of the story.
Thank heavens for Stelios! At least he was a true Spartan - tough, bloodthirsty and very much insane~ *_*
Also a completely different person then originally, but truth be told - I can’t decide which Stelios did I love more. One is sure however, that I welcomed his flirting with Astinos with pure delight. I always found it sad that the GN Spartans - though homoerotic icons, with their sweaty naked torsos and muscled man-thighs - appeared to be quite hetero in their actions. Well, Not any more :3
I enjoyed their battlefield duet more then it was appropriate. It was such a perfect scene~
Though they could have spared the finale v_v
I could rant about the crimes against Gorgo all day. I expected large alterations in her character, but they crossed the limit of my endurance!
In th GN she flashed for only a page, but left a lasting impression and I really felt touched by the romance thread. Yes, there was romance! A tragic, unspoken and beautiful one, perfectly fitting to the harsh Spartan reality.
And here?
Gorgo: *teaches her son* Fight with your heart!
Me: Woman, who let you on the set!!!?? x__X
Don’t misunderstand me - I complain not because I hated it - I must have been crazy to hate the most gayishly pornographic movie which’s title I’m not embarrassed to say.
I still loved it thoroughly and give it 8/10.
It’s just that with the graphic novel potential I was expecting something worth at least 20/10.
So if you are planning to see it - read the GN first. Then you’ll be able to admire something more then Spartan musculature and the pretty colors.
And there was much joy.
I feel as if I just had a good dose of testosterone injected straight in my veins - I’m almost bursting with the “RRRRRaaaa!!” feeling
We went to the cinema in a jolly group of me, jigoku, Zeru and Gamet, whom I haven’t seen for like years and who was almost as enthusiastic about the film as me, so we had great fun acting like total 300 geeks, shouting the lines together with Leonidas (I defy anyone who does not want to shout the legendary “THIS IS SPARTA!!” with him ;P), searching for people to kick of the stairs and literally jumping on our seats all throughout the movie.
Gamet, it was an honor to fangirl by your side! ;)
But alas - though the movie filled me with fangirlish squee, it also disappointed me tremendously.
Somebody in the storyline team decided to use fabric softener on all the Spartans and turn them into a bunch of family loving fuzzy-wuzzies.
Frank Miller never intended to be true to history. Nor gravity laws, reality or political correctness. The only thing his 300 was true to was Symonides’ epitaph:
Go tell the Spartans, passerby:
That here by Spartan law we lie
The whole graphic novel was like an artistic impression based on those two verses.
The movie makers however thought that way of storytelling to laconic (sic!) and that it was a great idea to add some character development to make them “believable for today’s viewer”. So instead of marching “for honor’s sake, for glory’s sake”, the /developed/ Spartans marched “For our lands, for our families, for our freedoms.” - isn’t that touching? *makes a puking noise*
I now can understand the whole political uproar about hidden propaganda in 300, because the way they whitewashed the Spartans was just awful!
Miller didn’t hide that they were a bunch of war obsessed fanatics, brainwashed since early childhood. A perfect ant-like army, with no place for feelings or individuality. It was not the point to show the Spartan society as an example to be copied (unless you fancy building yourself a fourth Reich ;P). The point was showing men, who were true to their values till the very end - whatever they were.
But somehow in the movie, those values started to look strangely American-like, and all the bits showing a totalitarian character of Leonidas’ troops (like making fun of Athenians and their democracy) strangely disappeared from the script, replaced by pompous talks about “preservation of liberty” (it’s almost funny to hear those lines from people living in a police state…)
The reviewers complimenting 300 for being faithful to the GN must have been illiterate and just watched the pictures without reading it. Sure - it was impressive to see the exact frames from the comics copied into the movie, but not at the cost of completely altering the message of the story.
Thank heavens for Stelios! At least he was a true Spartan - tough, bloodthirsty and very much insane~ *_*
Also a completely different person then originally, but truth be told - I can’t decide which Stelios did I love more. One is sure however, that I welcomed his flirting with Astinos with pure delight. I always found it sad that the GN Spartans - though homoerotic icons, with their sweaty naked torsos and muscled man-thighs - appeared to be quite hetero in their actions. Well, Not any more :3
I enjoyed their battlefield duet more then it was appropriate. It was such a perfect scene~
Though they could have spared the finale v_v
I could rant about the crimes against Gorgo all day. I expected large alterations in her character, but they crossed the limit of my endurance!
In th GN she flashed for only a page, but left a lasting impression and I really felt touched by the romance thread. Yes, there was romance! A tragic, unspoken and beautiful one, perfectly fitting to the harsh Spartan reality.
And here?
Gorgo: *teaches her son* Fight with your heart!
Me: Woman, who let you on the set!!!?? x__X
Don’t misunderstand me - I complain not because I hated it - I must have been crazy to hate the most gayishly pornographic movie which’s title I’m not embarrassed to say.
I still loved it thoroughly and give it 8/10.
It’s just that with the graphic novel potential I was expecting something worth at least 20/10.
So if you are planning to see it - read the GN first. Then you’ll be able to admire something more then Spartan musculature and the pretty colors.