Three Hundred (Counting These) Words About 300

So I went to see 300 today.
As I was certain I would, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
But historical accuracy? Not so much.
The same was true of the comics, but accuracy was never the point. The point is to tell a a good story, and to make it an overwhelming assault on your senses that leaves you dizzy and breathless. It’s not as faithful to Miller’s style as Sin City, but it is darkly humorous, macho, and unflinchingly and stylishly violent and quintessentially Miller.
Some critics faulted it for its machismo, but it’s a movie about Spartans for Christ’s sake: of course it’s going to be macho! You were expecting maybe a chick flick?
While the movie doesn’t aspire to be much more than an action-packed chest thumping epic, it does have some great non-action scenes, mostly focusing on Queen Gorgo, played by actress Lena Headey, who manages to look very hot despite the fact that the grainy, washed-out colors that recreate the look of the books aren’t exactly flattering to the skin.
One of the queen’s best moments actually happened off-screen in the audience.
On-screen, after being betrayed by the corrupt Theron (Dominic West) in front of the assembled Spartan Council, she hauls off and slaps him hard across the face. So hard, in fact, that it elicited a loud and shocked “Ohhh!” from some guy in the audience.
Like many others in the audience, I found it hilarious that following on the heels of scenes of stunning violence that involved severed heads and limbs it was a relatively innocuous action that provoked a gasp.
I don’t want to provide any major spoilers (history does that), but I did want to use three hundred words to say that 300 kicked ass.