300: Rise of an Empire - Review - SPOILERS

300: Rise of an Empire has quite the challenge to stand upon the shoulders of it's predecessor. 8 years after the original, Zack Snyder is back at the helm with an ensemble of shredded men and a puny teen. This time around, we take a different angle on the war, initially set up 10 years prior drifting through the events of 300 and the death of Leonidas all the way to the final navel battle of the conflict. So, yeah, expect news of a third 300 movie as the way it ends sets up so much more. Let's hope its not another 8 years from now and that Zack Snyder pulls his finger out to get it done for next year!

To begin, we enter the fray in battle that leads to Themistokles' (Sullivan Stapleton) killing of Xerxes father 10 years prior to the events of 300. With the narrative moving from this and Xerxes' move from human to God-king we drop into a political debate on the action needed by Greece to fend off the Persian forces. Upon trying to recruit the Spartans into the battle, we are notified that a squad of 300 has already left and Leonidas is among them. While this conflict rages, Xerxes' (Rodrigo Santoro) naval commander and right hand lady Artemisia (Eva Green) is launching an attack on Themistokles' limited ships and it is brutal. Themistokles' tactics are ingenious and his forces exact brutal skill upon the enemy. In terms of acting, the movie was actually very strong (Another crazy thing to see from an action film), Stapleton's voice sent ripples with every word. His huge build, powerful voice and commanding presence on screen makes him perfect for the role, never slipping up and managed the pressure of the main role without letting it get to him. Eva Green on the other hand is an actor I've never been drawn too but she's always been able to play the bitch without a hitch. She played the role convincingly enough but she still lacks presence when she's supposed to be this power house.

The flow of the story is great, although it is obvious how the outcome will be, everything feels like a surprise. For an action movie, it does create genuine bonds between characters and seeing them shattered really eggs you on for some revenge. Speaking of revenge, let's look at the violence and gore. Although I have never read the comic or seen it's art style, the blood looks incredibly glossy, almost paint-like and that really destroys the illusion when pitted with the actual ferocity of the combat. Albeit, the choreography of the fight scenes is perfect, it's fluid movement blended with slow motion shots exacerbate the extent of each hit and I couldn't stop giggling every time I saw someone get a Gladius blade to the face.

Probably one of the biggest and most violent blockbuster this year, Rise of an Empire stands as quite a triumph in my book. A bloody gorefest with a story that answers so many questions. I'm a little peeved with some of the visuals, the blood being one but a giant dog that looked like it had come from Ghostbusters and didn't even fit into place, nor was it even addressed. A sex scene that looks more like rape and a script that throws back to 300 in the cheesiest of fashion. Finally, I would have loved it to have been a bit longer but this desperate need to make a trilogy for something can stretch it very thin and it's removed all of the battles on land and replaced them with only naval scenes. Because of all this, I feel I should rate it more on my entertainment factor and 8/10 stands well with me. It's blood-pumping fun for almost all of the family.