300 may not be a great movie — New York Times reviewer A.O. Scott called "about as violent as Apocalypto and twice as stupid" — but at least it's novel, which is more than I can say for Wild Hogs. So 300's triumph at the box office this weekend renews my faith in American moviegoers somewhat.
As reported in the Los Angeles Times, the comic book-inspired epic not only dominated the box office this weekend but also broke records for March opening-weekend ticket sales.
The $64 million production, which brings the ancient Battle of Thermopylae to the big screen, grossed a whopping $70 million in the U.S. It totally trounced Wild Hogs, which brought in $28 million, and in third place was Bridge to Terabithia with about $6.9 million. Sadly, I haven't gotten to see 300 yet, so if you did, tell me what you thought.
Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.
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I loved it!! ...it's just awesome. I'm familiar with the book Gates of Fire, in which it's roughly based. Also Frank Miller is a genius, and the director (damn forgot his name) is the guy who did Dawn of the Dead- which was pretty awesome as far as F/X are concerned.
1Oh, and it IS a great movie! AO Scott just got bumped off my list of credible critics. SEE YA!
2The reviews I've read have been either glowing or yuck- you either love it or hate it.
I, for one, loved it!
Where did they find so many ridiculously hot men with 8-pack abs? Jeez!!
I think when you watch it it is important to remember that it was adapted from a graphic novel (comic) and it follows the stylings of the graphic novel very closely. (Simple dialogue, stunning visuals) If you are looking for depth, this is not it. But the action scenes are ca-ra-zay! And it is pretty high-charged and fun.
And yes, the novel is based loosely on a true story (The Battle of Thermopylae) but it is a COMIC and it should not be looked at for historic accuracy. (I am sure there were no goat-headed men playing a lute & drinking wine in Xerxes' tent in real life, nor were there wolves with glowing eyes...)
For a splashy, big movie, it was a fantastic 2-hour escape. It has loads of guys so ripped that I was, at one point, trying to figure out if they were CGI enhanced. They are not. I saw a video on the trainer they used and it was like military training X10000.
Loved it!
3i loved loved loved it. i cant rave enough about it. it was so great. im going to actually go see it again next weekend and hopefully that will get it out of my system until i can buy it!
4I went with my husband and another guy friend who said that the abs and muscles ARE REAL! He read it in a Men's Health article.
5It's based on Gates of Fire, which had more information about the fighting/training styles and mentalities of the Spartans. A lot of the 'witty' dialogue comes from Gates of Fire. (Ex: the thing about a million arrows covering the sun, and "Then we shall fight in the shade." And "Tonight we'll dine in hell!!")
My husband and I saw it this weekend and LOVED it. If we have time, we're going to see it again. It had a really good storyline that made you really interested in the characters. You should go in to it knowing it's adapated from a graphic novel... just like Sin City (same author!).
I really liked how the Queen was portrayed as a strong woman, obviously loved and respected by the King. Not that I'm all "girl power" or anything, but it was refreshing that the Queen wasn't portrayed as a vindictive, power hungry b*tch or a piece of meat. Even though words weren't spoken about it, you could tell by the way they looked at each other that there was deep love between the two which made it kind of romantic... and the sex scene was hot.
Two thumbs up!
6I didn't hear of it being based on a graphic novel until now... I don't doubt that it is! I re-read and I don't want my post to sound like- It's based ONLY on Gates of Fire.
7I loved this movie...it was action packed and the men HOT!! I do wish it had more character devolpment though. I saw one poster mention The Gates of Fire, was this a good book or does anyone know of any other good books on the Spartans??
8My husband and his friends went and saw it, but having just watched both Troy and Kingdom of Heaven I was too burned out on slash 'em up war movies to go. They all loved it, though. Hubby says it definitely earned its R rating, between both the violence and the sex scene (which he thought was hot).
9You either love the movie, or ya hate it. I loved it. I wouldn't recommend it to just anyone, for obvious reasons, but man. I loved Gerard Butler before this, and I love him even more now. The movie is a girl movie...ya got the strong woman, and 300 bits of mancandy.
But
in all seriousness. GREAT movie.
10Yummy!! I love Gerard Butler. This is the first movie I have seen in the theater in 2 years and it was AWESOME!! Fluffy but the visuals are wonderful. I loved the action slo-mo sequences. It is done really well balancing violence with love, politics, humor. At one point people in the audience actually cheered.
11MAN I want to see this too!!! My sister was lucky and her and her bf got the last two tickets in the city to see it. She absolutely love it!!! It's almost sold out for the next weekend too, so me and bf are on the train of acquiring tickets asap!!
12The movie was AMAZING - loved loved LOVED it!
13i saw it this weekend- omg i'm obsessed. I sooo want to see it again!
14hmmm... i thought it looked stupid... but since all of you are giving it such rave reviews, maybe i'll go see it, my bf is dying to see it
15oh atoxy im sorry you didnt get any tickets good luck next weekend as i am going to see it again. sticky your hubs is right that sex scene is hot...and it was not random, it made sense. oh lord give me some gerard butler he is mmmmmmmm sooooooooo hot!
16Loved it Loved it Loved it! Saw it with my husband and his friend, and I was one of only about 5 women in a packed theater... women who spurned this movie: YOUR LOSS!! The cinematography is amazing, the story is good, the fighting scenes are awesome, and has it been mentioned that the men are gorgeous and mostly naked? Yum!!
17And the sex scene was very hot...especially since the couple have been shown to have a deep bond. I didn't think it was gratuitous at all, but it was beautifully shot and made you think about how much the characters seemed to care about one another.
I am definitely seeing this again and again and again....
Can't wait for the dvd!!!
My husband and I went Friday night; we loved it. However, it is QUITE GORY and I had to look away several times. But that's just me; I have to look away during anything too bloody in movies.
I don't understand why the critics are not being more enthusiastic. It's *supposed* to be "over-the-top", it's not based on strict history, details were changed to make a better story, the director has pointed this out. So saying it's too "over-to-top" or that "300" doesn't adhere exactly to history makes me boggle at the reviewer.
"300" is exactly what it purports being; a big, dark, comic-book style heroic sword&sandal epic. Enhanced by super cool CGI effects. That's all it's supposed to be. If you like such things, you'll probably love it. If you don't like such movies, don't go.
There is also a great scene I won't give away but let's just say...the whole audience burst into applause and as a woman, I was *deeply* satisfied.
18Ah, I don't listen to movie critics. I was in awe of the battle of Thermopylae, I loved the graphic novel, and I loved this movie for a number of reasons, some of which I'll share here.
1.) It looked really good, quite like the graphic novel.
2.) The acting itself wasn't over the top.
3.) While watching 300 buff men was fun, it wasn't all just about the eye candy.
4.) It makes you admire the sheer heroism of the characters and would also make you think how the real Spartans must have felt defending their land against the invading horde.
And I totally know which scene eyepoke means! I cheered for that scene too.
19300 ='s SUCH A GREAT MOVIE!!
20My husband saw it and still hasn't shut up about it.
21atox, my husband had to go to 4 different theaters to find one that wasn't sold out and he went to a show an hour later than he'd planned just so he could get in.
22Eyepoke, I know the scene! All five women in the audience clapped and cheered for that moment...it was great!
23I was hoping that there would be a little bit more historical context given to the audience, but that is just me being a bit nitpicky. Otherwise, it was awesome. A great visual experience, that is for sure. And it didn't hurt that the men in the movie were looking their best :]
What this movie did best was make the audience feel the sacrifice these men made for their home. It was a movie that did a great job capturing the emotions of the Battle of Thermopylae, and the sheer heorism of the great 300.
I don't know if this says anything or not, but my two guy friends have dragged me to this twice. And they still can't shut up about how much they loved this movie.
24I really loved this movie, and even went to see it twice over the weekend. While the dialogue wasn't the best, the artistic vision in this move swept me away. It made me laugh, cry and feel really inspired that a few brave men can accomplish so much.
I highly recommend it for many people, as it has romance (his love for his wife is so beautiful), adventure, action and sexy, sexy men (and women!) in very little (and sometimes no) clothing.
25I'm so EXCITED TO SEE THIS!!! I can't wait! I've heard that it's awesome from all my buddies back in the states and I was totally bummed when they got to see it first but I can wait... Wait, NO I CAN'T!!!
26I so loved this movie. But then I love pretty much everything written by Frank Miller.
27I am going to see it with my boyfriend on Thursday - we went to see it this weekend at the Imax and it was sold out - for all shows that night, =( he of course would not settle for anything less than the Imax experience lol ugh, men!
28Did i hear 300 gorgeous and mostly naked men??? I CANNOT WAIT!! =)
29300 was friggen awesome - Anyone who says differently is a pansy. There are some talk that it has pro-war sentiments, but anyone who thinks that is a paranoid narcissisist.
30LOVE IT!
31it was amazing. don't listen to critics. listen to the people. every single frame of that movie was a masterpiece.
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