I really wish I had like a guitar solo to start off my blog posts. But all I can say is Eva Green. Wow. Take my land and rule my people. I still cannot stop thinking about Eva Green. Can they make a spin-off film and make the whole movie about her?

This is my third review based on some sort of scripture or previous writing. Back then, there were comic books, and now they are called graphic novels. As we all know the first move, 300 is based on Frank Miller’s epic graphic novel of the same name. This movie came out before the graphic novel did. I think that is an attractive marketing ploy.

I can’t find the right word to describe how this story was told. The events of this movie take place before, during, and after the events of 300. So, if you did not see the first film and you saw this one, it would make no sense.
One thing that I was sort of disappointed to see is that there was no part for Gerard Butler because he made the first 300 so memorable. But, Eva Green totally one-upped that expectation of mine, and it was a pleasant surprise. She totally made me forget about King Leonidas and made me so intrigued by her motives throughout the film as Artemisia.

1. The story line was so exciting! The movie opens up at the end of the first movie, then immediately cuts to the Queen Gorgo, played by Lena Hadley leading her men to a battle as she is explaining the story of Themistocles, played by Sullivan Stapleton. Themistocles is just an average Greek trying to lead his separated nation to become Greece.
2. This story isn’t romanticized as much as the first 300 film. As I was watching this, I believed that this actually happened and from what I know about Greek history, I felt that this was more accurate to the story. No giants, no monsters, no monsters with razors for arms.
3. I really admired how they had a back story for Xerxes and how he became a God. But, I really enjoyed the back story for Artemisia, how she was abandoned by her own people and thrown into Persia to die. But she was taken in by the King and became this wreckless warrior eventually becoming the leader of the Persian navy. Now that back story felt real and believable, not say it was real, but it was believable. Xerxes back story was him finding a golden pool and coming out of it a God!

What I liked about this movie more than the first 300 is how much more accurate was to what actually happened in history. The writers and director do a really excellent job using narration and imagery, showing how all the different states of Greece united to fight the Persians and become one nation.

If you didn’t see the first film, then I would say this film would be very confusing to follow due to the unique story line the movie shows. My favorite part was how Themistocles goes to Sparta while the Spartan men are at war during the first 300 movie. Here you can tell that this is happening during the first 300 and here he asks Queen Gorgo for Sparta’s hand in the War because with out Spartans the rest of Greece has no chance to survive. I like how you can see the contrasts between other Greeks and the Spartans. You see all of these teenaged boys training to become warriors, built to battle versus the middle-aged Greek men who do not even compare to the Spartans at all. Queen Gorgo refuses and sends them away, saying that they do not want to become part of Greece. This leaves the protagonist, Themistocles, and the rest of Greece hopeless against the Persians. But, Themistocles gives the Greeks hope and they fight the Persians anyways, despite being entirely out numbered! The coolest part of the story is where they are going into the final battle, and you see Queen Gorgo with her Spartan men traveling on sea, where the movie started off. She just finished telling the story of Themistocles and his bravery to unite a country, and then the Spartans ambush the Persians in the final battle scene of the movie. That part sort of stunned me but I really liked how the story line went back to the beginning of the film where you first here Queen Gorgo leading her men to the battle.

There really isn’t much for me to say about this movie because it is one of those movies that I will buy on DVD and watch it 100 more times before I get a reasonable opinion on anything. But, overall if you enjoyed the first 300 and understood everything in it, then this movie is for you.