dex14

Please continue prerelease discussion here

Movie:
"300: Rise of an Empire" (Starring: Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Lena Heady, Han Matheson, David Wenham, Rodrigo Santoro)

Release Date:
3/7/2014

Rating:
R (for strong sustained sequences of stylized bloody violence throughout, a sex scene, nudity and some language)

Running Time:
102 min

Budget:
$100 million (estimated)

IMDb Synopsis:


Trailer:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/2zqy21Z29ps" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Poster art:

Why So Blu?

Porting over my most recent post after seeing it last night:


Just got back from my 2-D screening and I had a blast! Yes, Eva Green kills it. That sex scene, holy shit, was it hot. fapfapfapfapfap

The visual aesthetic is still present but it's amplified a bit and the brutal violence is the icing on the cake. I had no idea Stapelton was seriously injured and had to miss the promotional junket for the film's release.

The film serves as an origin story, sequel, prequel, concurrent film all in one. It's fairly easy to keep track of, too.

I hope they keep the mythology alive and make another one.

RichC2

I do find it funny that we have 300 and Sin City sequels in the same year. Sin City waited for Alba to become a better actress apparently, 300 just hired Eva Green.

majorjoe23

But Sin City also hired Eva Green.

Dr. DVD

Porting over my review:

Saw it. I thought it was just as visually impressive as the first one, and Eva Green completely stole the show. Sadly, there was not enough of her and Sullivan Stapleton just doesn't have the power of Gerard Butler. The story was pretty un-involving and never seemed to achieve the energy levels of the original. I would give it 3 out of 5 stars if we had a review thread , with one start awarded for Green.
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csant

I really enjoyed it and agree with Eva Green kicking ass.

Best line ever "you fight harder then you fuck".

A-aron

Overall I enjoyed this ... I really like the whole prequel/sequel element to it, and it moved along nicely. Bonus points for Eva's boobies I saw the IMAX 3D version, and liked the depth to it - though some of the CG was painfully obvious.

One thing that I liked was how they incorporated the first film into this one, and used it to spring the series forward. I would like to see the major Xerxes battle with his eventual defeat.

OldBoy

that poster art is sick!

Dr. DVD

Uh...I don't think he was ever actually defeated, if real history holds true.

Mondo Kane

So did Eva make cinematic history for the first pair of IMAX 3D boobies?

creekdipper

I'll give anything with Eva in it a chance.

Heck, I even finished Camelot just because of her.

Dr. DVD

The review saying that she outdid Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct wasn't entirely accurate. However, her character is probably the most sexually charged one to be in a main stream release since that movie. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I saw a crazy sex scene in a major Hollywood release in quite some time until this movie. (The fish flopping in Showgirls doesn't count.)

Why So Blu?

Camelot was disappointing but she was the best part of it.

dex14

Enjoyed it. Really liked the way they presented the timeline. This one felt less like a graphic novel come to life and more like an episode of Spartacus. Eva Green was the best part, of course. And her scoops of flesh were glorious. Everyone keeps talking about her these types of roles... she did branch out a bit with Perfect Sense (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1439572/?ref_=nv_sr_1). I thought that was pretty good.

It was weird to hear Sullivan Stapleton without his Strike Back American accent. I haven't seen Animal Kingdom in a long time and I didn't know who he was then.

I didn't know Jack O'Connell was in this. Nice surprise.

Matthew Chmiel

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and Pihla Viitala beat it to the punch, even if Eva has the better breasts.

Outside of Dawn of the Dead and Watchmen, I really don't like Zack Snyder. I thought the first 300 was boring, Sucker Punch was one of the worst films of that year, and Man of Steel was a prime example of how not to make a superhero film post the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In that regard, I was surprised how much I liked this sequel. Without source material really tying down Murro and Snyder with being faithful for fan service, they just let the absurdity fly. It's gay, fabulous, and violent as hell. Additional props go out to having one of the best kill scenes since last year's You're Next

I also was "amused" () by the multiple deceptions of rape, almost as if Snyder had to outdo himself and make up for the lack of rape in Man of Steel. Classic (hack) Snyder.

Dr. DVD

While Snyder was not the actual director of this one, his prints were all over it. Rag on him all you want, but the guy can create good visuals. Problem is, he can't really effectively fill the time between those visuals with something engaging.

DJariya

I'm not going to write some bullshit esoteric Nathaniel Hawthorne review.

Just going to be simple and to the point. I really liked it. I liked it even better than the 1st movie. Thought it was really was good and creative move to make this sort of a prequel and function simultaneously with the 1st movie as well as be a sequel.

Eva Green was definitely the highlight. Thought she was awesome as Artemisia. Liked the character's backstory as told in the movie. Pretty dark.

Really weird hearing Sullivan Stapleton speak with his native Aussie accent playing a Greek. But I enjoyed his work here as Themistokles. Nothing to over-analyze here, he had the physicality for the role and was pretty badass.

I actually saw it in 3D and for the most part, I thought the 3D effects were pretty good.

Yeah I will definitely be getting this when it comes to Blu Ray and maybe do a back to back viewing with the 1st movie. I hope it's a loaded BD. I'd love to see all the behind the scenes material and how they put this together.

They definitely left things open for a 3rd movie should the box office be good enough for WB and Legendary.

csant

I think I read it open to 45mil+. Now great, but not bad neither... probably enough to justify a third.

mrhan

I thought it was well done.

robin2099

For an R-rated sequel with no recognizable stars, that came out eight years after they original that's a great opening.

Dr. DVD

If they do a sequel, they need to do it soon and not wait another seven years. I am curious if there might be a way to splice these two movies into one for kind of an Ultimate 300 story, kind of how they did Watchmen? Since they mostly occur simultaneously I don't see why not.

SuckaMC

I hop you feel silly right about now.

Snyder did not direct this.

Why So Blu?

There's an awesome GIF out there of Green's tits during the sex scene. I can't find it anymore.

robin2099

I liked this. I really, really liked this. I actually think that it was better than the original. I like Sullivan Stapleton from Strike Back, but I'll be the first to say that he did Ok. However I don't feel that he commanded the screen like Butler did in the first one. The one who did steal the screen however was Eva Green. She was awesome! She also would of made a kick ass Wonder Woman. Which makes me wonder, why she wasn't cast since Snyder was a producer on this and had to have seen parts of it. Nice sex scene/fight scene also.

Like I said I really enjoyed this and thought it looked great. 4/5 for me.

Giles

the Washington Post review (one star) really didn't dissuade me from seeing this - and I have to admit - I quite enjoyed this - not great story (like the first film) but it still entertained. The action scenes were killer, the 3D: damn impressive - and a truly epic sounding Dolby Atmos mix to boot.