Parallel to the clash between the Spartans and the vastly superior Persian army, on the other side of Greece, the talented general Themistocles plans to unite the forces of several cities and strike at the invaders’ fleet. Xerxes’ naval forces are led by the fearless and relentless Artemisia. She and the Persian king have a score to settle with Themistocles, and the forces of the opponents are clearly unequal.
300: Rise of an Empire - A Spectacle of Blood and Steel
To give the film crew more freedom on set, all battle scenes were filmed in pavilions on land, and water was added on computers during post-production.
A lot has been said about Zack Snyder’s “300” in its time, but it is no exaggeration to say that the film became, if not a new chapter in the history of cinema, then certainly a new page. A picture of incredible graphic beauty, overflowing with blood, steel, and testosterone, literally transferred the comic book to the screen – pages of the graphic novel could be compared with freeze frames of the film and study the similarities and differences for hours. It was this new unusual approach that turned many people, even those far from adolescence, into ardent fans of “picture magazines,” which were previously considered purely childish. Many subsequently tried to repeat Snyder’s manner (and indeed, Zack Snyder himself tried to develop the idea), but “Spartans” defended the pinnacle of mastery. Viewers were left to wait for a sequel: who else but a descendant to overthrow the king and take the throne?
Due to the fact that Xerxes appears as a 3-meter giant in the film, Rodrigo Santoro had to play all his scenes alone against a “green screen.” But even more inconvenience for the actor was his daily six-hour meticulous makeup.
This time, Snyder decided to hide in the shadows of producing, and invited Israeli director Noam Murro as the director (there is some subtle subtext in this – the Jews Snyder and Murro are fighting the screen Persians-Arabs), but do not worry – only the name remains from Murro in the picture. Let the director’s fans not hold a grudge against me, if there are any, but the sequel to “Spartans” is made in exactly the same style, manner, and strategy as the first film – the differences, if any, are the most insignificant. Perhaps only Snyder himself could single out some signature “Murro” details, but for the viewer, the second film will be an ideal continuation.
Moreover, Snyder did a work on the mistakes (and, if anything, received a much larger budget), and therefore “Rise of the Empire” is really a rise, one might say, literal. Literal, because this time two beautiful flowers have blossomed on the rather dry, laconic, no pun intended, Spartan tree of history, named Lena Headey and Eva Green. And if Headey still has a role that is not too extensive, hardly more than in the first film, then Green has become a real protagonist. The main villain, which was not actually in the first film – Leonid’s Spartans fought with a darkness of enemies, and Xerxes was as if above the battle. Now the war has a very definite face: Themistocles against Artemisia, Sullivan Stapleton against Eva Green. And although Themistocles-Stapleton is far from Leonid, Green more than pays off the advances given to Butler’s “replacement,” both girls and especially young people who came to the session will be delighted with her heroine. Rodrigo Santoro also gets a little screen time, the authors will tell us how Xerxes’ hatred for free Greece began.
Spectacle Over Substance?
However, as you understand, all the acting work in “Spartans” pales against the backdrop of the fireworks of special effects. Their scale is already visible in the trailer, but we assure you – no trailer is able to accommodate all the beauty of the new, also largely drawn world. This time, most of the battle scenes have been moved to the sea, and this is done so well that the viewer simply turns into a child and watches the galley battles, the ships crashing in battle, and the incredible stunts of the heroes with fascination. Perhaps the sequel has a less developed literary background – the first film had, albeit completely naive, but a plot, “Rise of the Empire” is, in fact, a series of battles. But it is unlikely that those who go to “300 Spartans” expect from the picture tense dialogues, insidious weaves of passions, deep characters, and emotional decisions. This is war. “What will thousands of words cost when the strength of the hand is important,” the poet once said, and the heroes of the film act precisely within these limits: the blades are bared, let the blood flow. Pure adrenaline and eye candy. Everything is like in the first film, but with Eva Green. Agree, the audience wins!