sayakboral-1

I'm going for a generous 5 out of 10 for this travesty only because I admire Cameron Diaz's acting skills. She's among very few female actors that can make you laugh with their sense of comic timing, the other one would possibly be Jennifer Aniston. I mean I didn't even look at the trailers and went straight ahead to buy the overpriced ticket, thinking it would simply be another roller-coaster comedy ride not very different from Bad Teacher (which is one of my favorite comedy movies) what with Bad Teacher's Jason Segel also thrown in into the potboiler.

However, the whole premise was a major disappointment. The absence of a storyline was evident right from the beginning. This includes characters like that next door neighbor and the flirtatious boss, while everyone found them obnoxious, I'd venture to say these characters seemed to have been lifted straight from imbecilic pornography movies. Well as a matter of fact, this movie really lives up to its promise - it's almost like a soft-core porn flick with cheesy dialogs and overacting at every scene. Jason Segel just seems to be a happy guy, I mean it seems every 5 minutes he jumps into bed with Cameron Diaz, what I wouldn't give really.

Did I like anything about this movie? Yes there was this overgrown, super-mature, obese kid in the 5th grade called Howard something - I found him really funny every time he went around blackmailing Jason Segel for the sex tapes.

There's also a scene with Cameron Diaz in a miniskirt putting on her roller-skates. That would feel super awesome for genuine Cameron Diaz admirers. We all love her!. Had there been any other female playing the lead character instead of Cameron, it wouldn't prick my conscience even once to trash this movie completely. That's how bad it is.

This sequel of an all-time favorite cult classic seriously disappoints: considering they had so much good going for them, they really blew the chance. For one, the plot is based on a historical episode "Battle of Salamis" which in fact, had a bigger role to play in securing Greek victory over Persians than the "Battle of Thermopylae" depicted in the original 300.

You might like this movie ONLY and ONLY if you have not seen the original 300. And why call this one "300" anyway? The Battle of Salamis was not fought by 300 Greeks but at least 10000-- the title itself is misleading. And as you watch the events unfold before you, the inconsistencies start adding up and if you have an above average IQ, it WILL eventually kill your interest.

The sequence of events wasn't lengthy but within the first 10 minutes, the plot became clichéd and boring. I slept through the remaining movie except for 1 or 2 scenes. One might be forgiven for pinning the blame on Frank Miller's, he was unable to make the comic sequel (on which this movie is based) as interesting as the original 300 which managed to grab your attention within the first 10 minutes itself.

As time went on, the drama was rapidly unfolding before you and combined with an all-powering action, you knew that it would certainly head for a brilliant climax - the last stand of Leonidas and his men was EPIC of magnificent proportions.

Now you can't change the events of history but it was certainly possible to make 300: The Rise of Empire more interesting. You have to use a different formula.

The character of Xerxes was totally wasted on this one; I was done with him after the original 300 and in no mood to watch him again as this wasn't his episode!! In fact, Xerxes didn't participate at all in the Battle of Salamis and left it to his generals why devote so much screen time to him including over 10 minutes of background on how and why he became a God-King. Totally pointless.

Another historical inaccuracy: Darius I of Persia didn't die from an arrow wound in the Battle of Marathon but 3 years later peacefully in his bed. You can certainly take a few liberties when documenting history in a cinema but not so much that it distorts the original events.

Another inaccurate idea was the premise that Artemesia saw her family massacred before her eyes, got sold into slavery and was discarded to perish before being picked up by a kind Persian emissary. That's not correct as wikipedia suggests she was a Queen in her own right. Factually speaking, many Greeks were satrapies of Persians and were entirely devoted to Xerxes. The background of Artemesia has been filled with wild imaginatons and takes away the story's credibility.

The acting was tolerable at best and second rate at worst. None of the characters seem to be speakng their dialogs with any sense of conviction except for one scene where Themistokles blurts out "we choose to die on our feet, rather than live on our knees!" -- I liked that one, the only dialog inspiring enough in a movie filled with bad writing. Only a bad writer can write something so unoriginal as:

1. XERXES" Today we will dance across the backs of dead Greeks (yawn) 2. ARTEMESIA: I will attack the Greeks with my entire navy! (No points for that, genius) 3. QUEEN GORGO: Leonidas is dead THEMISTOCLES: Then avenge him (Wow, that was sooo original!!) 4. XERXES: Nothing will stop the march of my empire! (Enough already, I need my aspirin now)

Not a single dialog in this pathetic sequel comes close to the immortal line "THIS IS SPARTA". Gerard Butler kicked ass as Leonidas none was disagree with that statement...whatever the actor was who played Themistocles, he seriously sucks. A truly forgettable performance.

As for Eva Green playing Artemeisa, to be fair, she acted well but the script let her down. Her dialogs were cheesy and totally lacked depth. Oh, they didn't forget to add a sex scene, but it was so corny and must have been played out a million times in C-grade porn movies...less said about it the better.

Was there anything redeemable about this movie? Hmm...difficult to answer but let us say 5 years down the line when you check on your DVD collection and come across a copy of the original 300, you will still want to see it again...I saw the original 300 probably 50 times and it's still as fresh. As for this pathetic sequel, it will soon be forgotten in the annals of history - the rubbish bin of bad movie-making.

Methinks the movie-makers of current generation have become a LAZY LOT...they lack the craft and ingenuity required in telling a good story. Now that would be an unfair statement, THE WOLF OF WALL STREET holds its own in this entire season of mediocre and over-hyped movies - another piece of drivel being Dallas Buyer's Club. Whoever likes that movie and this so-called "300 sequel", please let me know so I can unfriend you on Facebook.