Prepare for Glory!!

Last night I checked out a film that after seeing the trailer some time ago I wasnt that excited about. Oh how wrong I was.

300 absolutely rules and kicks the living shit out of Gladiator! Stylish, beautiful, brutal I think best describes it.

Of course 300 is the famous (and true) story of the Battle of Thermopylae (of course if you dont know the story clicking that link could be a spoiler). Spartan King, Leonidas, lead only 300 men against around 2 million persians under Emperor Xerxes. Now its true there were only 300 Spartans, but modern consensus says there were around 6000 Greeks in total - the Spartans did lead them though and pretty much all that was left in the end.

Anyway Thermopylae is still looked at as the way for a small force to defend itself against a large army. Basically the Spartans positioned themselves in "the hot gate" at Thermopylae, which is essentially a gorge. They drew the Persians into the thin gorge, where the huge size of their numbers didnt matter.

Of course this film is based on Frank Miller's graphic novel (comic book), and while it obviously glamourises a lot of the action, and is pro-Spartan, you really appreciate the heroic element of the battle, and the idea of serving one's state before oneself.

I thought this was a great telling of one of the great heroic stories. I definitely recommend it.