Editor Reviews:

Description:
The epic graphic novel by Frank Miller (Sin City) assaults the screen with the blood, thunder and awe of its ferocious visual style faithfully recreated in an intense blend of live-action and CGI animation. Retelling the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, it depicts the titanic clash in which King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and 300 Spartans fought to the death against Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and his massive Persian army. Experience history at swordpoint. And moviemaking with a cutting edge.

Amazon.com:
Like Sin City before it, 300 brings Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's graphic novel vividly to life. Gerard Butler (Beowulf and Grendel, The Phantom of the Opera) radiates pure power and charisma as Leonidas, the Grecian king who leads 300 of his fellow Spartans (including David Wenham of The Lord of the Rings, Michael Fassbender, and Andrew Pleavin) into a battle against the overwhelming force of Persian invaders. Their only hope is to neutralize the numerical advantage by confronting the Persians, led by King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), at the narrow strait of Thermopylae. More engaging than Troy, the tepid and somewhat similar epic of ancient Greece, 300 is also comparable to Sin City in that the actors were shot on green screen, then added to digitally created backgrounds. The effort pays off in a strikingly stylized look and huge, sweeping battle scenes. However, it's not as to-the-letter faithful to Miller's source material as Sin City was. The plot is the same, and many of the book's images are represented just about perfectly. But some extra material has been added, including new villains (who would be considered "bosses" if this were a video game, and it often feels like one) and a political subplot involving new characters and a significantly expanded role for the Queen of Sparta (Lena Headey). While this subplot by director Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead) and his fellow co-writers does break up the violence, most fans would probably dismiss it as filler if it didn't involve the sexy Headey. Other viewers, of course, will be turned off by the waves of spurting blood, flying body parts, and surging testosterone. (The six-pack abs are also relentless, and the movie has more and less nudity--more female, less male--than the graphic novel.) Still, as a representation of Miller's work and as an ancient-themed action flick with a modern edge, 300 delivers. --David Horiuchi

Rating : - Do NOT buy the Blu-Ray. Settle for a widescreen DVD.
I've seen this movie a thousand times on DVD. It is a geniusly orchestrated and well directed movie, full of action, romance and aesthetic beauty.

But I will tell you I bought the Blu-Ray expecting it to be an even more breathtaking experience but was HORRIFIED from the result. The contrast was so high I could see the pixels blinking (more like dancing) in the cloudy backgrounds and on the actors skin. It was SO distracting, I could not concentrate on the movie's content. I tried messing around with color and contrast settings but to no avail. Watching the same movie from my roommate's DVD seemed to have the same, if not better quality.

At first, I was immediately terrified that my TV was not compatible to my Blu-Ray player (just bought the Blu-Ray player and 300 happened to be the first BD I popped in). Then I speculated that I had bought a crap HDMI cable (it was only 5 bucks. though I had done the research to confirm which HDMI cables are good and this one was) and would have to wait another 2 weeks to buy one that was 12 times more expensive just to see if it that was the case. Just when I had almost convinced myself that my TV's processor was too slow, logic crept in. I popped in my Batman Begins Blu-Ray. Crystal clear and absolutely breathtakingly crisp picture. No contrast horrors to be seen. I found myself watching 30 minutes of the movie (that I've seen a million times) because I was amazed by the picture quality. Then came the deal sinker, popped in my WALL-E Blu-Ray. The picture quality was sooooo amazing that I watched the movie three times in a row (that, and the movie itself was insanely cute and entertaining).

So alas, 300's horrible demise as a Blu-Ray was NOT an incompatible/slow TV, NOT a busted Blu-Ray player, NOT a crap HDMI cable.

It was the Blu-Ray itself. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt and say it may have just been a bad burn but I would return this Blu-Ray in a heartbeat and just buy a widescreen DVD for my collection. A movie as good as 300 deserves better than that.