300: Rise of an Empire (2014)
Release Date: March 7, 2014
Our world has numerous unknown mysteries. Scientists, philosophers and academics have spent countless millennia pondering the solutions to these questions, and will continue to do so for countless millennia more. How did life come to be? What is our purpose? What happens when we die? I have just come across another question, albeit one
that’s a fair bit more trivial in nature than those, though just as mysterious.
Why was 300 2: Themistocles’ Ocean
Adventure made?
That may sound harsh, but it isn’t
intended as a shot at the film’s quality. I’m just genuinely puzzled as to how
a sequel to 300 came about under the circumstances. First off, the previous
film ended pretty conclusively in such a way that it would be difficult to
carry on the story. Second, it’s a belated sequel made 7 years after the first
film, putting it in the awkward middle phase where it’s been too long since the
last one for a sequel to be timely, but not long enough for a sequel that
builds the plot around how long it’s been since the last one (for example, Toy Story 3, Tron Legacy and Jurassic World. Speaking of Tron, I’m still salty AF over Tron 3’s last minute cancellation, but
this isn’t the time or place for that.) This film’s solution was to tell a
story concurrent with the first film’s events on another front of the war
effort.
There! To the sea I tell you! Our
salvation floats upon the briny blue!
The film’s first act gives the backstory
of Xerxes and the Persians. Xerxes was at the battle of Marathon, where his
father was killed by the Athenian general Themistocles, and Xerxes was unable
to save him in time. Xerxes is convinced by naval commander Artemisia,
motivated by a backstory that could pass muster as an Aristocrats joke, to
leave on a quest to become a God-King. Xerxes returns from his quest as the
Pillar Man we all know and love, and the treacherous Artemisia took the
opportunity while he was gone to kill everyone else that Xerxes listened to.
Xerxes then declares war on Greece.
Xerxes would fit right in with these
guys.
In anticipation of the Persians,
Themistocles has tried to get all the Greek states to unite, but his attempt
fails when the Spartans stubbornly insist on doing their own thing, Themistocles
leads the Athenian navy in an assault on the Persians without the Spartans, and
has enough success that Artemisia personally takes notice and tries to bring
him over to her side by getting it on, but he turns her down.
In the meantime, the Spartans are
defeated and the Athenians make their last desperate move on the Persian navy
with only a handful of soldiers and ships left… until the other Greek states
provide backup that turns the tide (Ha!) of battle. Then again, the epilogue of
300 had Dilios leading an army of 10,000 soldiers and he’s present in the final
battle here, implying that the other one is set after this, so it’s a bit of a
foregone conclusion really. One other thing: if you must make a 300 sequel, why
didn’t we get to see the outcome of the one thing from the original that was
left unresolved?
One way in which Rise of an Empire does
differ is in the significant increase in gore. Although there was plenty of
death in 300, there wasn’t much blood, even when limbs were severed or heads
decapitated. The sequel adds in blood. Lots and lots of blood. Not just where
it would be expected, such as during a decapitation, but whenever anyone is
injured. It starts as a neat bit colour contrast between the blue of the sea
and the red of the blood, but the effect is soon lost as the blood is overdone
and even the slightest cut floods the shot in vein ketchup. The blood stops
having any impact when stepping on a particularly sharp pebble while barefoot
has a comparable effect on blood loss as severing an artery.
It’s rather disappointing that the film
feels very similar to the original. Not in a good way where what worked about
the original was kept, but in the sense that it feels like more of the same.
Rise of an Empire struggles to set itself apart from the first film. This is
unavoidable to some degree, as the film’s events are concurrent with those of
the original, but most of the first film’s characters reappear in cameos. Even
the Persian messenger returns, with a pivotal role in Artemisia’s backstory at
that! The one holdout is Leonidas himself, who either appears in flashbacks or
is spoken of as being just off-screen. His absence is a shame, as he was one of
the most enjoyable aspects of the first film. It contributes to the feel of the
film being stuck in its predecessor’s shadow, especially since almost everyone
else returned, whether they were necessary to the plot of the new film, or just
there for the sake of saying “Member 300? Oh, I member!”
“Member the oracle? Member the
hunchback? Member the pit?”
Nowhere is the tough task of having to
compete with the original more evident than in the character of Themistocles.
He tries, bless him, he really does, but he just isn’t as charismatic as
Leonidas was. Leonidas tearing out chunks of the scenery with his teeth at
every opportunity and bellowing all his dialogue made him memorable. It
contributed to the first film’s larger-than-life charm, its juxtaposition of
extreme testosterone fuelled manliness, and also the incredible homo-eroticism
that comes from lots of rippling muscled men wearing very little clothing
demonstrating such machismo. There was also the concept of the first film being
told as a story by Dilios, who embellished it to make the Spartans more heroic
and have monstrous creatures and arcane magic among the Persian ranks. The
sequel is more restrained and less over the top in this regard, although it
does have its share of really silly stuff, like the bit with the horse in the
climax. Unfortunately, this also makes it less compelling in a way. While there
is some welcome development of older aspects here such as the increased
prominence of the messenger, as silly as it may seem at first, being the only
person ever to show Artemisia kindness and being like a father to her, other
things from the original do lose a bit of their impact from the development of
the world here. Most notable is Leonidas’ last act of defiance to Xerxes in the
first film. Leonidas scratching Xerxes’ cheek with a thrown spear to
demonstrate that he is not invincible and that even a God can bleed is implied
in the original to inspire the rest of Greece to unite, leading to the army of
10,000 soldiers in the epilogue. In this film, it’s explained that Themistocles
had been organising the union already, with the Spartans being the only
hold-outs. In that regard, Leonidas’ sacrifice is reduced from making him a
martyr for Greece to rally behind, to just buying time while Themistocles does
his thing.
On the plus side, there is some good
stuff here. The stylised backdrops remain, allowing the characters to pop out
into vivid focus and providing a nod to the film’s graphic novel roots. Although
being limited to the sea inevitably means less variety in settings, it is made
up for in a surprising variety of ocean themed battles and strategies. The
expansion of the world, allowing us to see the rest of Greece as well as
Persia, is well done, particularly the scenes showing that the Persians are
just as enthusiastic about Xerxes and his campaign as the Spartans were about
Leonidas and his defence, and the scene showing Sparta from the perspective of
Themistocles, who as an outsider is shocked by the senseless brutality of the
Spartan way. The highlight among the cast is Eva Green as Artemisia. She’s
clearly having fun with the role, and also gives the Persians a Leonidas
equivalent. There are periods where she carries the film, which combined with
the glimpses of Persia and the backstory of Xerxes, almost make it a shame that
the film isn’t told from the perspective of the Persians. Possibly this is
because having one of the reasons behind Artemisia’s animosity towards the
Greeks be a desire to avenge her adoptive father after Leonidas killed him like
it was no big deal would have made her too sympathetic.
Unfortunately, 300: Rise of an Empire is overall, case of style over substance.
True, the first film was too, but it was better able to overcome its issues
than this one. The greatest sin? It’s not nearly as quotable or memorable as the
original. Nothing on the level of THIS IS SPARTA! here. At least it wasn’t successful enough to
justify Meet the Spartans 2: Athenians of
the Aegean, so that’s a silver lining.
5/10
Speaking of THIS IS SPARTA! Here it is, in both original and stupid statement dance mix varieties.