Although it often mesmerizes with its gorgeous visuals, gives fans of the original a new hero and Eva Green steals the show as Artemisia; “300: Rise of an Empire” can’t quite fill the huge sandals passed down by the first film.
“300: Rise of an Empire” serves as almost a supplementary story for the original 300 as events in the film tell the story of what happened before, during and after, Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and his brave 300 fell to the god king Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his endless Persian army. The story follows Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) as he leads Athens against Xerxes’ Navy and its ruthless General Artemisia (Eva Green). You can tell from very early on that the filmmakers regret killing everyone in the first one. This three-tier story is convoluted and is about as complicated as it gets. One of the great things about the original is the simplicity of the story, 300 Spartans vs. 1,000,000 Persians. This movie is part origin, part spin-off and part sequel- it never fully commits to one thing.
In the end, that hurts the overall quality of the film.
This story is full of fresh faces and fresh abs to the 300 universe, one being Sullivan Stapleton, whose character Themistokles; a master strategist and legend in battle, is a sympathetic hero whose pursuit of a united, democratic Greece gives the audience a hero they can root for. Stapleton does a good job of straying away from a straight on Gerard Butler impression, his Themistokles is a very different type of hero and he portrays it as such.
On the other side of that coin is Artemisia, played by the beautiful Eva Green. Artemisia is Xerxes’s number one; she is the cutthroat leader of the Persian Navy. Artemisia’s sadistic methods make a feared and formidable opponent. She is hell bent on erasing Greece from the map. Every time Green is on screen, she commands your attention. She is able to convey a passion and ruthlessness in a very complex role, that if left in a lesser actress’s hands would feel comical.
The rest of the cast is as forgettable as it can get. Unlike the original, where each character had their own personality, everyone is about as two dimensional as Paper Mario. Even characters that return from the original like the widowed Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) and Xerxes (Rodrigo Santaro) are only around to connect the story to the original. Gorgo repeats the same narration at least five times and the God King Xerxes is reduced to a cowardly spoiled brat. Every time you try to fall in love with the Athenians, a flashback or a reference is made of the Spartans that makes you wish you were watching the original on the screen.
Now, as great as the original 300 was, it was not because of its great story, but because of hyper stylized violence and action sequences; in this respect, Rise of an Empire delivers. Noam Murro, the Director, does a great job of rebuilding the world of 300. Even though it’s a copy and paste job of Zack Snyder’s unique vision for the first one, Noam is able to leave his own stamp on the 300 universe with battles at sea, which add a new dynamic to the battles. The opening battle particularly stands out, but at times the fight scenes feel more out of “God of War” than 300. Whenever a Persian gets their limb hacked off you can almost see a button appear above an Athenian in preparation for a quick time event.
In the end, “300: Rise of an Empire” is a serviceable follow up, but it cannot break from the shackles of the original as it moves mountains to try and tie the events of the sequel to the original. Stapleton and Green turn in great performances and make the film entertaining and have a fight/sex scene that audiences will be talking about for a while. If you just want to step back into the world of spray on abs and blood and sandals, Rise of an Empire is for you.
But if you hoped for a sequel that matched- or surpassed the quality of the first one, sit this one out.
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