As audiences enjoy the latest in the historical epic genre, with Christopher Nolan’s groundbreaking The Odyssey conquering viewers across the entire planet, another major release in the genre is dominating streaming. Nineteen years after its theatrical release, Zack Snyder’s wild fantasy action adaptation remains as jaw-dropping as ever, with its unhinged depiction of conflict resulting in the most original war movie you will ever see. While Matt Damon quietly confronts his dilemma in The Odyssey, Gerard Butler screams out, “This is Sparta!” and reigns supreme on the streaming landscape.
‘300’ Is One of the Best Comic Book Movies Ever Made
The fantasy action blockbuster follows a band of 300 Spartan warriors trying to fight the impending invasion led by King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). King Leonidas (Butler) leads the army against a vastly larger Persian force in what’s essentially a highly fictionalized and absurdist version of the Battle of Thermopylae in the Persian Wars. The odds are not in their favor, so Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) tries her best to convince the remaining leaders to send more men, inspiring the Greeks to unite against the Persian invasion.
300 is based on the 1998 comic book by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, but it isn’t the average movie of this format. Snyder’s vision resulted in a shot-for-shot adaptation of the comic, a style that was previously used in the 2005 action thriller Sin City (which was based on Miller’s source material, and was directed by Miller alongside Robert Rodriguez). By embracing this peculiar approach, Snyder gave himself enough liberty to bend every rule in the book. The laws of physics don’t apply in 300, the violence is extreme and almost cartoonish, and the gory details are over the top. In this regard, it stays close to the comic, and earns its title as one of the most original movies in this genre and certainly one of the most divisive.
‘300’ Doesn’t Need to be Accurate to Be Good
The film was released in 2007, and had one of the biggest openings in history, especially for an R-rated feature. It grossed $468.8 million throughout its entire theatrical run against a $65 million production budget, and was the launchpad for a sequel that arrived seven years later. Butler did not reprise his role in 300: Rise of an Empire, but others like Santoro and Headey returned, as well as Zack Snyder, who wrote the film with Kurt Johnstad. The sequel grossed over $337 million, but wasn’t as well-received by critics as its predecessor.
300 had a good critical reception, though its early screenings prompted a divisive reaction. When it screened for the press at the Berlin International Film Festival, many attendees walked out while others booed the film. At the worldwide premiere hours later, it received a standing ovation. On Rotten Tomatoes, 300 holds 61% on the critics’ score and 89% on the audience score, proving it is more of an audience movie than a critics’ darling. Many criticized the film’s lack of accuracy, but from the start, it is pretty obvious that Snyder is not pushing for realism. This is not a film to learn history with.
Today, the 117-minute epic is having a resurgence on streaming. Per FlixPatrol‘s latest update, it’s sitting at No. 1 on the VOD platform Vudu, ranking above extremely popular movies like the Super Mario movies, Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day, and the Star Wars spin-off The Mandalorian and Grogu.