The fact is that in this film, there is no single protagonist. Yes, Gerard Butler’s character King Leonidas is the most prominent ‘good guy’, but the entire Spartan force seems to be one entity, and fight and die as one. All 300 of them. If the Spartans were a body, King Leonidas would merely be the head controlling everything under it. Leonidas – knowing he can’t take the whole Spartan to war with the Persians as he knows the Council will not give him permission to do so resorts to selecting 300 of the best Spartan warriors and declares them to be his ‘personal guard’ while taking a ‘stroll’. Yet, he takes them to meet the Persians at a place known as Thermopylae, joining forces with the Arcadians and the other Greeks. Speaking of Persians, their commander Xerxes (pronounced zerx-zeez) is a very interesting character. Standing nearly 7 feet tall, considers himself a ‘god-king’ and has his own human staircase; he is a man that is worthy of his own paragraph. Needless to say, when the greatest warriors in the world meet the greatest army in the world, you know that you’re in for one hell of a ride. While Xerxes marches his army towards Sparta, the 300 men set out on their suicide mission. This battle of epic proportions will nearly 2000 years later be known as the Battle of Thermopylae.
Snyder and Miller have clearly set out to recreate one of the most famous ancient battles of all time, albeit with a Hollywood sensationalist makeover. Much of the film’s backdrops are computer generated, with the actors acting in front of a green screen. Also, while the film is for the most part historically accurate, it is not a documentary. The creators are out to make money, so there is a hit of fantasy injected into the jugular vein of this film. Most notably is the depiction of the Persian army. They are shown to have many fantasy based creatures. From soldiers known as ‘Immortals’ who have the faces of monsters to obese humanoid executioners that has knives for arms. I won’t even get started on the startling portrayal of Xerxes yet.
This exaggerated portrayal of Persians has angered many – guess who... Persians! Yes, this film has been highly controversial and a hot topic for debate in the Iranian media, who see it as the West picking on the East once again. In fact, this whole battle is the very definition of East meets West – the Persians won the Battle of Thermopylae (hey, I can’t spoil a film based on non-fiction, can I?) but they lost the war. If they had won, the world today would be very, very, very different to what we know now. Incidentally, I too am a Persian – and I think I represent most of the Iranian audience when I say that I see this film as pure, simple entertainment. I believe it is up to the audience to draw the line between ‘entertainment’ and political correctness, not the film itself, which is the way it should be.
Even so, once you get past all the political and cultural waffle, Westerner and Iranian alike cannot deny this whole film is one massive adrenaline rush. One scene which comes to mind is when the Spartans build a ‘wall’ of dozens of dead Persians, and then topple all the bodies onto one of the most elite Persian warriors, an ‘Immortal’. The irony of his own comrades being the death of him is not lost on the audience. In the battle that ensues, the Spartans start taking their first heavy losses as the Immortals are not just average grunts, but trained warriors. You actually start to feel a sense of desperation for the Spartans, which is inflated when the Immortals unleash a once restrained monster the size of a small house onto the Spartans – but I think I won’t spoil that one for you.
Although, there are many interesting characters in this film, from the valiant King Leonidas to the deformed Ephialtes, only one deserves notable mention. Xerxes: king of Persia. The most striking thing about this person is his appearance. Covered head-to-toe in jewellery with bronze skin and not to mention that he’s humongous, forcing the above average Leonidas to look up! However, this alone isn’t what’s interesting about Xerxes – his personality is almost unique to me. He actually believes himself to be a god. The arrogance of this mean cannot be expressed in words; you have to see it to believe it. Furthermore, adding to his super god-complex, Xerxes is shown by the director to be very androgynous in appearance while still being clearly male. This is clearly intended by the director to show Xerxes to be akin to God who is genderless. Nonetheless, Leonidas does make a promise during an impassioned speech to Xerxes that before the battle ends, ‘...even a god-king can bleed.’ That sent chills up my spine. You’ll have to see if Leonidas fulfils his promise for yourself.
This film will at first appear to be very biased towards the Spartans. It shows the Persians to be not much more than barbaric slavers in fancy clothing, when in fact it was Persians who gave Jewish slaves their freedom and kick-started human rights long before the United Nations. Why then, this gross misrepresentation? In my view, it is simple. This whole film is an allegory disguised as a historical action flick. An allegory that even if a few free men stand against many tyrants, as long as they have a noble cause, even if they fall in battle, it will be their truth that ultimately prevails. Beautiful sentiment, don’t you think?
But whether this film has a deeper philosophical meaning is beside the point. In short: if you want to sit down with a bag of pop-corn and watch a truly exciting action film with limbs constantly being dismembered for the next two hours then by all means purchase your ticket now. If not... I think there are a few new rom-coms in cinemas too, aren’t there?
