300 Sequel---300: Rise of an Empire is Due Out in 2014. Here's the Trailer.

[Risingblade]

Meh it's not going to be as good as the original, I don't see this coming up with any good lines either. 300 at least had some memorable lines.

 

[Hades]

Wait was that queen Cercei?

I'm not that big on the whole Spartan-freedom and Persian=demonic tyrants, even if its meant ironically. In fact the Persians where by all accounts much more enlightened then the brutal, slaveholding Spartans. I'm fine with ditching historical accuracy if it adds something more interesting then the actual history but I don't find this the case with 300 or its incoming sequel.

I suppose I will go check it out though. I don't expect I will love this film but it should be a decent way to fill an evening.

A lot of people seem to forget that the story from the movie 300 is not an objective story. We hear it as it is told by one of the Spartans who survived the battle. He is a very subjective narrator who, as added weight, tells the story to his comrades before the next battle in the war. He is basically exaggerating a campfire tale to epic proportions about how Greeks are the heroes and the Persians are evil monsters in order to give his combatants reasons to be fierce, unrelenting and brutal in the battle. Of course Persians aren't evil. And of course they are not monsters. But a Spartan who fought them would describe them exactly like that for the purpose of pumping the adrenaline of warriors before the battle. If any of us was there in 5th century BC, listening to a Spartan warrior re-telling that story, we would've heard it exactly like that. Also, I didn't mention that regardless of how much we know about the Persians and their really awesome civilization, the Greeks in 5th century hated them. The Greeks hated pretty much everyone, they were incredibly xenophobic and everyone who wasn't a Greek was a barbarian and they would either tolerate them for trade or outright fight them. That's why I love the movie 300. It tells us a story from a viewpoint of an actual 5th century Spartan warrior, not a viewpoint of some quasi-historical lesson. And I say that as an archaeologist. 300 for me is the best historical movie because it gives us a glimpse of history as it was back then for certain, and not a textbook reading. Sure, the Persians were very advanced and enlightened, but the Greeks never perceived them as such. Why should a Spartan tell us about it? To him, Persians are monsters and he is there to kill them all. Unfortunately, people in the past were sometimes like that. I got more accurate vibes from 300 than from a lot of other historical movies which are pretty much always influenced by modern way of thinking and have the characters talk and think like... well, us, the 21st century modern viewers.

Needless to say, can't wait for the sequel. I hope the overall feel will remain the same. It certainly looks gorgeous, if nothing else. Also, if anything really bothers me about historical accuracy, it's the way they do the environments. They always look like modern art. Sure, it's pleasing to look at, but that pulls me out of immersion much more easily than the demon Persians.

I'm aware of that, that's what I meant with ironically though looking back that probably wasn't the best word to use. The Spartan telling it from his viewpoint and thus being an unreliable narrator is interesting but the conquering Persians being depicted as the better folk would be interesting to see as well, more interesting in my opinion.

I didn't hate 300 for not taking that path, I enjoyed it, thought it was an ultimately forgettable movie but still a fun one.

 

[Olas]

How the hell can they make a sequel? The original 300 was the story of 300 men who

Spoiler

DIED.

Well there was that ONE dude played by Faramir that is shown leading a new army in the end.

Yeah, but that new army seemed to be a tad over the 300 mark, more like the 300 thousand mark.

Historically there was a lot that happened before, during, and after the battle of Thermopylae which you could make a movie out of. Remember how 300 ended? Still, there's a reason they chose to make the original movie about the battle of Thermopylae and not all the stuff that happened before, during, and after it.

It looks like a neutered PG13 version of 300 without Gerard Butler or a truly noteworthy story behind it. It doesn't even appear to have any real iconic moments or quotable lines like the trailer for the first. It won't be directed by Zack Snyder, nor will it be based on a Frank Miller comic book. It also looks like Xerxes will be taking up the role of traditional evil henchman with lots of screen time instead of a mysterious figure we only see a few times.

Count me uninterested.

It's Pretty! It's Stupid! It's... Pretty Stupid!

But is it stupidly pretty?

[sub][sub]Sorry for that, I tried to resist, I'm going now.[/sub][/sub]

 

[Tayh]

To me, this is the most exciting movie-related news since Expendables 2.
Very much looking forward to is.
Who cares about historical accuracy? '300' was never meant to be historically accurate, anyway, as it was based on a graphic novel.

 

[TheWanderingFish]

I liked 300 for what it was. It was a very cool, 'turn your brain off' kind of movie. A lot of fun. I will definitely see this, because it is important to have those kind of movies sometimes.